


Heavy Is The Head

by extrastellar



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Family Feels, Forced Marriage, Fukuda Sogo is kinda like the Iron Islands, HaiKuro friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Game of Thrones, Light Angst, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mayuzumi's Kuroko's bastard brother, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Miscarriage, Mpreg, Platonic Relationships, Post-War, Slow Burn, Smut, The Teiko kids were fostered at court, battles, eventual HaiKise friendship, i even invented an own religion for this jfc, reaaaaally slow burn, so they're all foster siblings, too many historical backstories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2018-11-21 03:06:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 81,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11348565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/extrastellar/pseuds/extrastellar
Summary: Crown Prince Shuuzou has managed to bring peace back to Teiko in his sick father's stead - only House Haizaki refuses to bend the knee after its rebellion against the crown. In order to ensure Fukuda Sogo's loyalty, Shuuzou is to marry their barren lord's only heir, his younger brother Shougo, known as the Pillager. But while the two of them try to work out their involuntary marriage, a new threat to Teiko arises across the Vast Sea at Angeles.





	1. The Announcement

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first NijiHai fanfiction!  
> I've been wanting to write a Game of Thrones-esque AU for KnB for _sooo long_ , but I never actually did it until now.
> 
> So in this, House Nijimura is Teiko's royalty. House Akashi, House Aomine, House Haizaki, House Kise, House Kuroko, House Midorima and House Murasakibara are Wardens of Rakuzan, Touou, Fukuda Sogo, Kaijo, Seirin, Shutoku and Yosen. Smaller houses are sworn to their respective Warden, that means House Takao is sworn to Lord Midorima, House Momoi is sworn to Lord Aomine, House Kagami is sworn to Lord Kuroko and so on. 
> 
> I changed up the traditional Omegaverse a bit regarding the status of male Omegas. They're not at the bottom of the social ladder and they can be Knights, captains, warriors, anything an male Alpha or Beta or a female Alpha could. Concerning the rules of succession, the gender is generally more important than the dynamic; female Alphas are an exception as they rank higher than male Omegas.
> 
> So the rules of succession in regards to gender & dynamic go like this:  
> 1\. Male Alpha  
> 2\. Male Beta  
> 3\. Female Alpha  
> 4\. Male Omega  
> 5\. Female Beta  
> 6\. Female Omega

A throne was a terribly uncomfortable chair. Why did so many people desire to sit on it? The power it brought was a heavy burden, the expectations and decisions were even worse. 

Shuuzou shifted on the Vitreous Throne. With his father King Takeshi terminally ill, he, the oldest son and crown prince, had taken over the kingdom's affairs three years ago, when he had just turned 16 years old. 

It had been a difficult time to become regent of Teiko – during King Takeshi's reign, war raged. Shoei, Meiko and Kamizaki rebelled against the crown. The crown had called its banners and the Wardens of Touou, Shutoku, Rakuzan, Yosen, Seirin, Kaijo and Fukuda Sogo had annihilated the rebels. However, when the lands of Shoei, Meiko and Kamizaki had been apportioned among the High Lords, many had felt betrayed. The lands had raged war against one another and Fukuda Sogo under young Lord Arata Haizaki led by his mother Lady Chiyo, had started a direct attack on the capital. 

It had been one of the worst crises Teiko had ever suffered from, but with the help of his advisors and House Nijimura's own military forces, peace had been reestablished in the realm. 

Several contracts had been signed to appease the High Lords of Teiko. However, Shuuzou hadn't trusted Arata Haizaki, the only lord to start a direct attack on Crownwell. The people of Fukuda Sogo had betrayed the crown's trust more than once and a contract wouldn't be enough to guarantee the island's loyalty. Shuuzou's advisors had agreed with him and Lord Kouzou Shirogane of Cloudspear, one of the best strategists of Teiko and First Advisor of the king himself, suggested taking Arata Haizaki's sole heir as a hostage – Shougo Haizaki, the Lord's younger brother, a famous knight and sailor known as “the Pillager”, and an Omega at that. Since it was known that Arata Haizaki was barren, the loss of Shougo would force him to obey if he wanted his house to survive. But not as an ordinary hostage – those could be easily freed or it could be negotiated to free them. House Haizaki's loyalty and obedience was to be guaranteed for eternity and beyond.

Shuuzou ought to marry Shougo Haizaki. 

“Presenting!”, the herald called. Several lords, ladies, knights and others had been summoned to the palace today to receive the crown's gratitude and reward for their services during the war. The poor herald's voice was already breaking from announcing one noble after another. There was one more knight to come before the crown prince, however. “Ser Shougo Haizaki of Greyport Castle!”

The throne was more uncomfortable than ever before. Shuuzou did not wear the crown yet, but as his father's regent during his sickness, he was to sit on the ancient seat of Teiko's kings and queens in his stead.

Shougo Haizaki was a knight and thus appeared in his armour in front of the Lord Regent. The steel of his armour was dark grey and not properly tended to – there were dents and scratches on it. His blood red cloak shined against the dull colour and further accentuated his light grey, ruffled hair. The knight's ears were pierced multiple times. Without his armour, he could have also been a pirate.

Shuuzou was immediately pissed off when he saw the man's smirk.

'Does he think he's gonna get named to the Crownguard, or what?', he thought darkly and couldn't help but smirk to himself. 'Well, he's gonna be disappointed. I'm almost pitying him.'

“Nijimura”, Ser Shougo drawled and casually put a hand on the hilt of his sword. 

“You ought to address me with _Your Highness_ ”, Shuuzou said sharply and felt his brother stiffen next to him. Ken had been extremely opposed to the union and he wouldn't hesitate to show this. But Shuuzou had to handle this as rationally as possible – if Ken threw a tantrum, he'd have him removed from the throne room.

“Aw, c'mon”, Shougo shot back and licked his thumb. His cocky grin widened. “We lived together for a year. Can't I call ya the way I want?”

Shuuzou felt a vein pop on his forehead. It was true, Shougo had been fostered at court until his Alpha mother fell sick and requested her son to be sent back to Greyport Castle. Shuuzou had been only 6 and could barely remember young Shougo. His stomach was churning at the thought of marrying this man he had known once upon a time, who had become a stranger once more. “Of course you're free to call me _my lord husband_ if you wish to practice for the future.”

The lords and ladies started mumbling in surprise and Shuuzou openly smirked despite his own resentment towards the betrothal when Shougo's face fell.

“What the fuck”, he hissed and glared at the prince. “Don't you dare mock me, bastard. This is a fucking joke, isn't it?!”

“Ser Shougo!”, Naoto Sanada, one of Shuuzou's advisors, shouted. “Remember that you're talking to your fiancé, the crown prince of Teiko, future King of the realm!”

“Fiancé?!”, Shougo yelled and whirled around. “Which fucker here said so?! I'm not marrying anyone! I'm Shougo Haizaki, I'm the goddamn heir of Fukuda Sogo, I-”

“You are the future consort of His Highness Prince Shuuzo”, Kouzou Shirogane said, not particularly loudly, but in a way that drew all attention to him. Even the Pillager shut his mouth. “All arrangements have been made with your brother Lord Arata, Ser Shougo. You will be wed within the next two months.”

“Fuck that!”, Shougo spat and Ser Masaya Kubota, one of Shuuzou's guards, bared his steel. “I told you, I' m not gonna become anyone's legal fucktoy! What kind of shitshow is this?!”

“Lord Shirogane”, Shuuzou mumbled while trying to suppress the urge to murder the rude brat. Did he have not a shred of sense of respect for his elders?! “A few minutes.”

Shirogane nodded and turned towards the assembled court. “Lords and ladies, the prince kindly asks you to leave the throne room for now!”

The lords and ladies of the royal court were tutting at Ser Shougo and mumbling in confusion about being removed from the throne room, but obliged. Shuuzou's advisors and family followed them suit.

“Not you!”, Shuuzou called when Shougo turned to leave. He rose from the throne and climbed down the stairs. “I need to talk to you alone, fucking punk.”

“Fuck you”, Shougo sneered and stared at Shuuzou in disgust. “I don't wanna listen to your shit.”

He didn't even have time to pull his sword out before Shuuzou had his longsword pressed against his neck.

“You really piss me off, punk”, the crown prince growled, eyes glinting dangerously. “No, don't pull out your saber. You would lose. The only men comparable to me with the longsword are Daiki Aomine, Taiga Kagami and Ryouta Kise.”

“Good thing a saber's no longsword, then”, Shougo spat, fingers clenched tight around the hilt of his still sheathed weapon. 

Shuuzou took a swift step back and sheathed his sword again before taking a deep breath. “Let me make this clear. I really don't want to marry you.”

“Well, thanks, me neither!”, Shougo growled.

The prince fought down the urge to punch the younger man in the face and continued: “This is a political decision to ensure your brother's loyalty. You are and will be his only heir and it's known that you mean a lot to him.”

“Ensure his loyalty”, the knight hissed. “Fuck you. You wanna make me a hostage.”

“By marr-”

“I don't fucking _care_ if I become King Consort or not! I'll be a goddamn hostage, that's what it is!”

“ **Will you shut up already?!** ”

Shougo blinked at the prince's outburst, surprise evident on his face. Shuuzou himself rubbed his forehead in exasperation. The veins there were pulsing like crazy. 

'Gods be damned. I tried to talk this out rationally.'

“I don't want to wed you nor bed you, but I have to”, Shuuzou said through clenched teeth. “Believe me, I want to spend the rest of my life with anyone else but _you._ You will sit on the councils, attend important events with me, don't cause a war. I don't care what you're doing the rest of the time unless it's illegal. Don't get pregnant, don't get someone else pregnant, don't kill or insult someone important for Teiko's wellbeing. Clear? You won't be treated as a hostage, but as my consort. You'll live at the palace as a knight of the court and that means you'll act as such.”

Shougo ground his teeth. “Living like a knight of the court? So it's customary for palace knights to get fucked by their prince?”

The younger man could see the punch coming, but wasn't quick enough to dodge it. Shuuzou's fist collided with his jaw and made him stagger backwards. Shougo tasted blood in his mouth and spat it on the marble floor before staring at his fiancé incredulously. Luckily none of his teeth were knocked out by the power the punch had packed. “What the actual fuck?!”

Shuuzou was fuming. He had tried not to resort to violence, but this particular man seemed to have a certain affinity for pushing his buttons. “Shut the fuck up and listen to me or I'll punch you again. And this time I won't spare your teeth.”

The grey-haired man opened his mouth to retort, but shut it quickly enough again. 

“If it's a platonic marriage you want, that's more than fine by me”, Shuuzou said through clenched teeth. Gods, he had to relax or he'd do something he'd regret. “But I want you to fucking realise that this peace is so very frail. Your house betrayed the crown often enough in the past and your brother sailing against Crownwell was just the cherry on top. If the crown doesn't bind its hands, House Haizaki will betray us again and there will be war again. And how to bind Arata Haizaki's hands? He's barren, it's easy – take his heir away for eternity and beyond. I was pushed into this as well, but I don't want another war. Do you get it now? This is as much of a punishment for me as it is for you, fucking punk.”

Shuuzou took a deep breath. “Your brother had to agree. It's all set in stone, there's nothing either of us can change about that other than dying. But you don't seem like someone to commit suicide over an arranged marriage, and so am I, so that means we're stuck with each other. Got it?”

Shougo was staring at the white marble floor with specks of red from the blood he'd spat on it. His hands were balled into tight fists, Shuuzou noticed. “Yeah.”

“Good”, Shuuzou said and he felt as if someone had lifted a rock off his shoulders. “You're free to take your leave, Ser Shougo.”

The Pillager did not bow before he left the throne room.


	2. The Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your feedback! I honestly didn't expect so much of it on the first chapter :3  
> I hope you enjoy! :)

The Crystal Church, built by King Kaito I, the first man of House Nijimura on the throne of Teiko, was brimming with quiet chattering, hushed laughter and murmurs of inquiry. A good hundred of lords, ladies, knights and their noble offspring, among them the High Lords of Teiko and the Miracles, waited for the arrival of the Omega groom so that the ceremony would commence. 

Shuuzou stood at the altar and stared at the giant white doors. They would open in a few minutes to reveal his husband-to-be and it made him feel like an angry bat wanted to escape his stomach. It was not a nice feeling. He glanced at his family in the first rows. His father, of course, was still confined to his bed because of his sickness, but his siblings and his mother and her family, his aunts, uncles, cousins and his grandmother were there for the firstborn son, the heir to the throne, to be wed to the brother of a former rebel. They sat only a few metres from him, but they had never felt so far away, not even while he had been at Angeles.

Shuuzou glanced at the Miracles, seated right behind the royal family, an incredible honour. Akashi was looking at him with unreadable red eyes. There was no trace of the adolescent boy who had shared Shuuzou's bed sometimes before the war had started left in that gaze. Midorima's frown was sure to never disappear from his face, but the way he grabbed his lucky item from his local fortune teller Oha Asa, a flute, so tightly that it looked like it would burst any moment, betrayed him. The Green Miracle was known for feigning nonchalance, but here, he didn't even put much of an effort into the feint. Murasakibara looked just about as bored as ever, but even in his dull, violet eyes shone disapproval and resentment and gods, Shuuzou wanted to sit there too and stare at himself with the same emotions. Even happy-go-lucky Kise was not smiling, on the contrary, he was scowling and the intensity of his stare rivalled Akashi's. Aomine was pretty much Kise's mirror, his usual frown deeper than ever and anger burning in his navy eyes. Only Kuroko's face did not give away his emotions, as usual.

Shuuzou turned his gaze back towards the white gate and swallowed. He could do this, he could deal with this. He had faced worse, much worse – this was only his wedding. 

'My wedding to my former foster sibling whose brother openly declared war against the crown.'

The doors swung open and the chattering died down. The High Itsudansei, who stood at the altar with Shuuzou, gave a sign and the choir on the marble balustrade raised their voices to start the sung prayers.

Shougo of House Haizaki was an Omega, but he was a fearsome knight who unhorsed Ryouta Kise, the son of the Warden of Kaijo, who was said to have the greatest potential as a warrior, an undeniable prodigy who could learn anything with one glance, multiple times in the past. The name Ser Shougo Haizaki became known throughout the realm and some said that he was on par with the Miracles – Shuuzou would neither deny nor confirm that. Knights, Alpha, Beta or Omega ought to marry in their armour, so here the Pillager was, wearing a new dark grey armour with the shark sigil of his House on his breastplate. His cloak was blood red as usual and fastened at his armour with clasps in the form of sharks whose eyes were made of ruby. 

He walked with his brother, Arata, down the aisle. The Warden of Fukuda Sogo and Lord of Greyport Castle was not smiling and neither was Shougo. The two of them looked like they were ascending the scaffold. Well, Shuuzou could understand both of them. He was feeling the same way. It was a political marriage, a legal taking of a hostage, nothing more. Shougo wouldn't be House Nijimura's ward, no, he would be House Nijimura's heir's mate - a captive by the laws of gods and men alike for eternity and beyond, a mortgage for his brother's loyalty and obedience.

The metal of Shuuzou's own armour was white as they said that all colours united in white. It was a ceremonial armour which had been forged just for this special occasion. His own cloak was multicoloured; his tutor had always said "the colours of the rainbow, the symbol of peace and unity, your house's mission". Shuuzou thought it was ridiculous. Shougo's cloak was much more impressive, it could make men tremble while his own only made highborn ladies swoon.

Once Shougo had arrived at the altar, the High Itsudansei, an elderly man with a five-pointed crown of glass, motioned for the audience to kneel and clasp their hands. Skirts rustled and armour rattled when the guests followed his silent request.

The betrothed pair bent the knee to the priest as protocol required.

'At least he's doing that without cussing', Shuuzou thought darkly. His stomach was churning and he couldn't bring himself to look at his husband-to-be. 'Well, this is it. I can say farewell to the happy married life with a highborn lady or lord I had pictured for myself as a boy. Now I'll be stuck with _him_ instead.“

"Shuuzou of House Nijimura, you have stepped into the light of the Itsukami today to be wed by their godly laws."

Shuuzou nodded. He had been taught the holy worlds early on and it was only his sense of duty and the routine of speaking the words that made him say them out loud. "I beg the blessing of the Itsukami here in their holy lieu for my union with Shougo of House Haizaki."

The Itsudansei turned to Shougo who stubbornly stared at the floor. His only movement was the tremble of his clenched fists. "Shougo of House Haizaki, you have stepped into the light of the Itsukami to be wed by their godly laws."

Shougo jolted slightly before speaking the holy words as if he could feel his brother's glare from the first row. When he spoke, the words came out rushed and forced through gritted teeth. "I beg the blessing of the Itsukami here in their holy lieu for my union with Shuuzou of House Nijimura."

"Rise", the Itsudansei said and the two men stood. The elderly man gave a gentle smile and Shuuzou had to bite his lip to not yell at him that this was not a laughing nor a loving matter, this was a marriage of duty, nothing that was to be gently smiled on. "The gods have granted your union their ancient blessing. Unfasten your cloaks and lay them into the hands of the other."

Shuuzou undid the crown clasps of his cloak and held it in front of him waiting for Shougo to unfasten his own. The younger man nearly ripped the clasps off when taking off his cloak and for a moment Shuuzou thought he'd caught a glimpse of desperation in the Pillager's eyes.

He reached for the blood red cloak while holding his own out and subtly arched his eyebrows when Shougo didn't take it at once.

"Now recite the holy words to pledge yourselves to one another."

"In the light of the five gods that give life, death, love, strength and honour", the two men started and Shuuzou suppressed a frown when he saw his almost-husband's hands tremble. The grey-haired man still didn't meet his eyes and stared at the rainbow-coloured cloak in his hands as if he had never seen something like it before. 

"I, Shuuzou Nijimura,"  
"I, Shougo Haizaki,"

"shall share home and life with this man until my eyes are closed for eternity and beyond. I take him to be my mine and to be his, to take care of, to love and cherish him in the names of the Itsukami if so they wish."

Shougo's voice had turned harder and darker until he almost spat the holy words and if this wasn't the wedding ceremony in front of all of Teiko's important nobility, Shuuzou would have punched him again. To be honest, he'd rather fight the Pillager on the battlefield than in the marital bed.

"And so they wish", the Itsudansei said solemnly and the audience repeated his words in unison. Despite himself, Shuuzou got goosebumps. "Now turn, Shuuzou of House Nijimura and Shougo of Houses Haizaki and Nijimura, fasten your cloaks and present yourself as lawfully wedded in the light of the gods."

Shuuzou fastened the blood red cloak while Shougo did the same with the rainbow coloured one before stepping forward.

To present yourself as lawfully wedded in the light of the gods was nothing more than a kiss in the Church after the whole ritual with the kneeling, the cloaks and the words was done. It was the last step to finish the ceremony on the day of the wedding. There was another one on the following day, after the wedding night, but that was not important right now. 

Shuuzou took another step forward and his frown deepened when he realised that his almost-husband was indeed slightly shaking, eyes narrowed and shining with anger, suspicion and a hint of... fear? Now that he was so close, Shuuzou could even pick it up in his crisp scent of the salty winds of the sea - a slight edge of panic. His protective alphan nature kicked in and Shuuzou almost crooned here and there, out of instinct, and barely suppressed it. Nothing would have been more embarrassing than crooning in front of all of Teiko's nobility.

'Better to get it over with.'

Instead of crooning, he just bent forwards – Shougo was of his height, to his irritation - and pressed a chaste, quick kiss to the younger knight's lips before he could even blink.

"In the name of the Itsukami, I now proclaim you married in the eyes of gods and men!"

The audience that had been kneeling on the cushioned banks in the Church with their hands clasped for the whole ceremony rose and started applauding and cheering when the newly wed couple walked up the aisle to the Church's gates hand in hand as protocol wanted it.

Shuuzou put on a fake smile and nodded and gave the occasional wave, but he felt numb, almost as if it wasn't him who was moving his body. The gates were pushed open and the summer light blinded him for a short moment before they stepped out. An uproar of cheers hit his eardrums, but it was as if he heard it through cotton wool. The men and women of Crownwell were assembled on the Plaza of Crystals, waving and smiling and all Shuuzou could think of was that his mother had done a great job in promoting the political intention of this wedding because he could not see a single resenting expression amongst the sea of faces grinning at him.

Shuuzou lifted his free hand and waved and the crowd's cheers roared up again so loudly, he felt like he couldn't breathe. Someone gave him a slight nudge and Shuuzou spotted Kubota on his right. His friend and guard jerked his chin in the awaiting carriage's general direction.

'The carriage. Back to the Keep. Right.'

Still feeling as if this was not his own body, Shuuzou started moving, more or less dragging his husband – oh _gods_ , his _husband_ \- with him.

Shougo's hand was awfully cold in his.


	3. The Feast

The wedding feast was a big and pompous affair. 

“It may be a political marriage”, Shuuzou's mother Hibiki had said, “ but it is a royal wedding thus it has to be celebrated accordingly.”

Shuuzou couldn't deny his mother the wish to organise her first child's wedding feast. When he was a boy, his mother had always told him which songs would be sung, which dishes would be served and which presents he would receive on his wedding. He had preferred his father's stories of adventurers beyond the Shield of Aegis, the great castle of the yoseni Wardens, with its unpiercable walls, though. But when the date of his wedding was nearing, Shuuzou had remembered his mother's gentle tales and had asked her to take care of the feast. He had never seen her smile as brightly since his father fell ill. 

The newly-wed couple had changed out of their armours into proper ceremonial robes.  
Shuuzou wore a white tunic and a deep green doublet, embroidered with silver ivy ornaments, and pants of soft black wool from the across the Vast Sea. His boots were made of fine, polished leather, custom made for the Crown Prince of Teiko and his unsullied white cloak was fastened by a crown clasp on his left shoulder. 

Shougo himself was clad into a dark blue tunic and a crimson leather doublet with silver buttons. His pants were of the same dark blue colour as his tunic and made of silk, as it seemed. His boots were made of black leather, rougher than Shuuzou's own, and ended above his knees like they were worn in Fukuda Sogo. He wore the same unsullied white cloak as his new husband. 

Shuuzou sighed quietly and dutifully applauded when the singer finished _Men of Meiko_ , a song that told the tale of one of the most successful battles of Teiko, but it bore a bitter memory to him. It had been the battle that had ruined the good relationships between the High Lords and the crown and all Shuuzou had been able to do was read the letters the hawks brought to him across the Vast Sea. He had sailed back as soon as possible once he heard of the Meiko massacre. 

“I can't understand why they sing of that butcher's feast”, Shuuzou's little sister Mika, twin to Ken, murmured from his left. “Meiko was humiliated and destroyed and they sing of it as it was a great deed. Meiko wasn't even an actual enemy.”

“They wanted to break free from Father's rule”, Ken said and took a sip of his wine. “That made them an enemy to the crown. They're singing that damn song to teach a lesson to certain lords. Makoto Hanamiya and Arata Haizaki for example.”

Shuuzou threw his brother a warning glance, but luckily, Shougo hadn't heard what Ken had said.

"Ser Seijuurou Akashi of Emperor's Eye!", the herald announced.

Shuuzou looked up from his lamb ragout, one of the fifteen courses this meal had, and smiled at the future Lord of Emperor's Eye, Warden of Rakuzan and his former lover.

"Akashi", he said and put his fork and knife aside. “What a pleasure to see you.”

The scarlet-haired Alpha knight bowed to the prince. His pale blue doublet was embroidered with golden ornaments, making him look almost ethereal. "Nijimura-san. I apologise for my father's absence. He has been met with a row of complications in the mines that ought to be taken care of right away."

"And I apologise for the king's absence. I'm afraid his sickness confines him to the bed", Shuuzou said and motioned for Akashi to rise. Suddenly, he spotted something, no, _someone_ moving in the corner of his eye and jolted slightly. "Rise. Who is your new companion?"

Akashi's eyes flicked to the grey-haired man with the deadpan expression next to him; the one who Shuuzou had seen in the corner of his eye. He wore armour and the scarlet and gold cloak of House Akashi, yet he barely had any presence. Neither did he have a particular scent, but there were some knights hiding their secondary gender with an essence called “Null Drops”.

"Ser Chihiro Mayuzumi, Your Highness", the man said, voice monotone. "Lord Yashiro Kuroko is my father."

Shuuzou arched his brows. 'Yashiro Kuroko's bastard. I knew he was taken in by Rakuzan, but by Akashi himself? And he even knighted him? There must be something truly special about this bastard.' 

"Prince Shougo", Akashi said and Shuuzou opened his mouth to correct him, before he remembered that Shougo was a prince now as he had married into the royal family. 

Shougo didn't stop defiling his ragout. "What."

Shuuzou shot him a warning glare and kicked his shin under the table.

Akashi's red eyes narrowed and sparked dangerously. His smile remained. "I hope you will get used to the life at court soon. It can be quite challenging for some."

"And I'm 'some', right?", Shougo bit and Shuuzou kicked him again.

"We shall see about that", Akashi replied and bowed slightly before taking his leave. “Your Highness.”

"Masaomi Akashi owns almost all the gold and steel mines in Teiko", Shuuzou hissed at his new husband once Akashi and his guard were gone. "If you piss his son and heir off, it's gonna cost us Rakuzan!"

"Fuck you and fuck Rakuzan", Shougo hissed back and glared daggers at Shuuzo while stabbing the meat on his plate with his knife. "I'm a hostage, I couldn't care less about some far away mines' owner! And for your information, I _hate_ the red-haired terror midget and I don't give a fuck about you or your threats!"

"Then why were you so afraid during the ceremony?", Shuuzou spat without thinking.

Shougo dropped his knife and flinched. Luckily, the music covered up the noise. "I wasn't afraid!"

"You were, I'm not stupid, punk", the older man snarled. "Do you think I'll rape you or what? Do you think I don't have a shred of honour?"

"Honour", Shougo growled, "gets people killed. You're still alive, so draw the conclusion yourself, asshole. And let me make one thing clear: I won't let you touch me. Ever. I'll bite your dick off if I have to."

Shuuzou's eyes narrowed he glanced to his left, then to his right. Good, there was no one there, but there could have been. "Be quiet. If someone hears you talking like that, they'll kill you."

"What, you won't protect me, my lord husband?", Shougo asked with a mocking grin and twirled the knife on the plate. "I could kill any of your guards with this measly knife."

"Possibly", Shuuzou said lowly. He was not gonna deny Shougo Haizaki's skill and power in combat, only a fool would. "But in case you didn't notice, Daiki Aomine, Ryouta Kise, Shintarou Midorima, Atsushi Murasakibara, Seijuurou Akashi and Tetsuya Kuroko are all here. And you know their attitude towards you. Except for Kuroko, they all wish to see you thrown in a prison cell or worse."

Shougo shut his mouth and glanced into the crowd.

Long, ebony tables rowed in the high hall and the colourful hair of the families of the great houses Aomine, Kise, Midorima, Murasakibara, Kuroko and Akashi was easily seen. Of course they were at the crown prince's wedding. It had been a while since Shougo had crossed the sword with a son of these houses other than Ryouta – Fukuda Sogo had marched against Kaijo during the war – and he knew what they called the offspring of the Wardens of Teiko: Generation of Miracles. Shougo had the lingering feeling that he wouldn't leave as a victor if he were to face off against them. Especially not when such a face-off would occur because of him threatening their beloved foster brother and future king. 

"By the way, I said I won't bed you", Shuuzou said quietly, carefully that no one would hear him but his husband. "I won't break my word."

Shougo didn't respond to that. 

"Nijimuracchi!", a bright voice called followed by the herald's "Ser Ryouta Kise of Goldhaven!"

Shuuzou sighed. Only Kise used the ridiculous “-cchi”-endearment and he was also the only one who was allowed to call Shuuzou that. After all, him and the other Miracles had been fostered at court until their 12th birthday. Shougo had been fostered at court for a mere year, making Shuuzou's memory of him so blurry as if he didn't even know him. 

"Kise", Shuuzou said and smiled at the beautiful blond Omega knight. Ryouta Kise was considered the most beautiful man in Teiko, only Ser Tatsuya Himuro rivaled him. With golden eyes and eyelashes longer than a woman's as well as the muscular body of a knight and the charisma of a prince, he was also the most desired bachelor of Teiko. Rumour had it that Lord Yuudai Kise and Lord Katashi Aomine intended to marry their sons.

"Now you're also married! I'm so jealous!", Kise whined and pouted, putting on the image of the stereotypical male Omega. Shuuzou knew better, though. Kise, the Golden Knight, was one of the most fierce knights he knew and nothing like the cheerful lord's son he was at court when you placed a sword in his hand. 

"Aren't you supposed to be the most desired man in Teiko?", Shougo snarled. "Must be a mistake. You're a sissy, who would ever want to fuck you, let alone marry you, Ryouta~"

"Oi!", Shuuzou snapped and kicked his husband harder than before, making him swear under his breath.

Kise's smile dropped and he turned to Shougo. The blond knight gave the Pillager a quick once-over. 

"Shougo-kun", he said sweetly. "I would give my congratulations to you, but if there is one person unworthy of Nijimuracchi, it is you. You are a vile excuse of a knight, _Ser_. That much hasn't changed since I pressed your face into the mud at Winterfield."

Shougo made a move to jump to his feet, eyes afire with rage at the mention of Winterfield where Fukuda Sogo had suffered a defeat against Kaijo's troops, but Shuuzou grabbed his arm to stop him. "What the hell did you say?!"

Kise gave him an arrogant smile before bowing. " _Prince Shougo_."

Then he turned back to Shuuzou and his face lit up with his happy-go-lucky smile. "I wish you only the best, Nijimuracchi!"

Once the Golden Knight had left, Shougo started swearing. "I hate that fucking prick."

"His father is Warden of Kaijo, Lord of Goldhaven and his family holds the South Port", Shuuzou hissed. "I swear to the gods, you'll instigate a civil war tonight and ruin us all."

"Everyone in here is fucking important somehow and I hate them all", Shougo spat. "When's this damn feast over?"

"Eager for your wedding night, punk?", Shuuzou muttered, dread settling in his stomach at the mere thought of it. "It shouldn't be too long. We've already had the third of five singers and there is only the dessert to come which we'll probably not have the pleasure of having. "

As if on cue, Naoto Sanada, one of his advisors, bowed down next to him.

"Your Highness", he murmured. "It is time for your speech and then the bedding ceremony."

Shuuzou sighed. At least he'd get out of these stuffy robes. "Herald!"

The herald strode towards him and bowed. “Your Highness, how may I be of service?”

"Announce my speech", the prince said and wiped his hands on the white handkerchief.

The herald nodded and knocked the end of his staff thrice on the floor to get the crowd's attention. The musicians stopped playing and everyone's head turned.

"His Highness Prince Shuuzou!"

Shuuzo rose and put a smile on his face to mask his uncomfortableness. Despite everything, he hated talking in front of so many people. He admired all the men and women who could do so without batting an eyelash. "Mylords, Myladies. Thank you for taking the long travels to attend our wedding feast. The royal family appreciates your presence today. With this marriage, peace has been established in Teiko!"

The guests cheered and slammed their cups on the tables.

"My father King Takeshi worked hard for this peace for decades until his body couldn't bear the burden anymore. I am proud to have finished his work", Shuuzou continued and placed a hand on Shougo's shoulder. The younger man tensed beneath his palm and Shuuzou couldn't help but give a reassuring squeeze. "We are proud to have finished his work."

He grabbed his vitreous goblet filled with fine tououan wine. "To the peace in Teiko for eternity and beyond!"

The guests raised their cups and shouted: "For eternity and beyond!"

"The married couple will now retreat!", the herald called and the guests rose to form an aisle for the couple to walk down.

"A bedding ceremony? Really?", Shougo hissed when his back was turned to the cheering crowd. His expression was downright murderous.

"It's only silk and sweets. They have much more intense bedding ceremonies across the Vast Sea", Shuuzou said under his breath. “Would you rather have the Alphas rip off your clothes, carry you to bed naked and make bawdy jokes?”

"Only sweets?", Shougo spat. "There are also _cycle-inducing_ sweets in the bowls. That's the whole bad joke about this. Are you stupid?"

"Call me stupid again and I'll hit you", Shuuzou growled before grabbing his husband's hand and putting on a smile. "Now fucking smile, punk."

Shougo glared at him, then faked something akin to a smile when they walked down the aisle. The Alphas started hooting and crowded around their prince to unbutton Shuuzou's doublet and take off his tunic to put a shirt of impeccable white silk over his head while the cheering Omegas did the same to Shougo, only his silken shirt was blood red like his House's banner. 

"Don't get him pregnant on the first night", Aomine drawled with a mischievous glint to his eyes while Murasakibara complained about having to give the sweets away.

Shuuzou's stomach churned when someone pushed a candy past his lips.

_Cycle-inducing_ was what Shougo had said. Shuuzou absolutely didn't want to go into rut right now. He had made a promise to his husband, a promise which he intended to keep. If he was in rut and Shougo went into heat, there was no way he could restrain himself, no matter how good his self-control.

So he kept the sweet in his mouth, hidden in a cheek and let himself be pushed out of the hall with his husband before the giant gates closed behind them. 

The feast would continue for the guests in the hall, for the couple in the marital bed.

Shuuzou fished the sweet out of his mouth and tossed it out of the window. It left a grossly sweet taste in his mouth. "Did you swallow the candy?"

Shougo shook his head, spat the sweet out and kicked it down the corridor. He wiped his mouth and grimaced. "As if."

Shuuzou sighed. He could feel exhaustion seeping into his bones. It had been a long day and incredibly emotionally tiring. "Let's go upstairs."

"Are you nuts?", the Omega knight hissed. "I'm not gonna share a bed with you!"

"Keep your voice down, for the gods' sake!", Shuuzou growled. Then he rubbed his forehead. "I already told you, I won't be doing anything. If we don't sleep in the same bed, the marriage is clearly unconsummated. Are you stupid?"

"Asshole, what difference would it make. You do realise they check for maiden blood in the morning, when we burn the shirts?!"

Shuuzou blinked owlishly. "You're still virgin?" 

'Now that's something I didn't expect.'

Shougo rolled his eyes. "Well, with one side at least."

"Blood is not something either of us lacks”, Shuuzou said with a shrug. “Cut yourself or something if they check if it's actually yours."

"And the Mating Mark?”, the younger man said with a sneer. “Gods, how stupid are you? And you're gonna rule this kingdom one day? Fucking hell.”

Shuuzou stopped climbing the stairs. Fuck. He hadn't thought about the Mating Mark. If they emerged from the bedroom without a Mating Mark at their necks, they'd be doomed. The Itsuningen would check the Marks on the morrow to ensure that it was real – if it wasn't, or worse, not even there, the marriage was annulled. 

When he looked back where Shougo was a few steps behind him, he was surprised to see a lost expression on the younger man's face.

"We won't be able to get around that", Shuuzou said quietly. "But I promise that I won't do anything else."

"I don't want to be fucking claimed!", Shougo growled. "Just let me return home! I'll guarantee for my brother's loyalty if that's what you're after!"

"Punk, I can't let you go home, we're now, whether we like it or not, _married_ and really, what reason are you giving me to trust you to stay true to your word, huh?", the prince said lowly. "That Mating Mark is inevitable."

"No!"

A scent of distress filled the air and Shuuzou felt himself automatically releasing calming pheromones.

Shougo was trembling, hands balled into fists at his side. 

"Stop that", he said quietly, his voice rough with anger. “If you keep on with that pheromone shit I'm gonna beat you to a pulp.”

"I need you to fucking calm down though!", Shuuzou whisper-shouted at him and continued climbing the steps. "Most people in that hall actually want you dead. Believe it or not, this marriage is your lifeline right now. A marriage unconsummated is bad enough, but one unmated? That's annulling it. I _told_ you. They'll kill you and they won't even hesitate."

Shuuzou pushed the doors to his chambers open. The servants had prepared the room already: a fire was crackling in the fireplace, candles were lit and there were new furs, softer ones, on the bed. Trays with carafes of water and light snacks were placed on a nearby table. The heavy black curtains were drawn shut. "I need you to trust me just this once. I won't exploit you through the Mating Bond."

Shougo slowly entered the chambers and shut the doors behind him. "Still gotta rip the shirts though, right?"

Shuuzou nodded and pulled his silk shirt off to tear it in two. Shougo proceeded in a similar way with his. Ripping the shirts of the wedding night given during the bedding ceremony was another ritual for teikoan weddings. Actually, the couple was supposed to rip each other's shirts, but who could check _that?_

Shougo was a knight, a good knight at that, so Shuuzou shouldn't be surprised to see how muscled he was. What was surprising him more were the scars. But then, the younger man had fought a war and he had grown up in the rough environment of Fukuda Sogo.

Shuuzou cleared his throat and asked: “So, who first?”

"Better get it over with", Shougo mumbled and pulled his boots off before climbing on the bed. "Come on, Prince Shuuzou. Or are _you_ still a virgin and can't deal with a half-naked Omega?"

"What would be so bad about that?", Shuuzou muttered and pulled off his own boots. Suddenly, he started to feel uncomfortably nervous. The prince climbed on the bed and kneeled before his husband. "Does mating without sex hurt?"

Shougo shrugged. "No idea." Then, he craned his neck to present his nape. “Get on with it.”

Shuuzou swallowed at that open presentation. Despite the younger man's bad personality, he was very good-looking and of course Shuuzo reacted somehow.

'Get a hold of yourself', he scolded himself silently. 'He trusts you right now. Don't fuck it up.'

Shuuzou shifted forward and bent down to press his mouth to the Omega's scent gland.

The knight's muscles tensed beneath his skin and this time, Shuuzou couldn't help the croon building at the back of his throat. 

"Try to relax", he whispered against skin and gently sucked on the gland.

A low whine echoed through the chamber.

Shuuzou came back up and stared at Shougo in surprise who had slapped a hand across his mouth. His cheeks were a bit flushed.

"Fuck you", he mumbled. "Don't stare. Do it already, dickhead."

Shuuzou clicked his tongue at the younger man's language but got back into his previous position. Shougo slightly squirmed beneath Shuuzou's lips and the prince found himself getting light-headed at the crisp scent filling his senses.

And he bit down.

Shougo yelped and the Alpha felt fingers tangling in his hair, attempting to pull him off. Shuuzou started to croon again and his right hand rubbed circles over the Omega's hipbone. Some of the Omega's blood and gland liquid got into Shuuzou's mouth, pure essence of his scent, and he found himself growling against his husband's skin before releasing the abused gland from his teeth.

Shougo was shivering and trembling, his nape purpling where Shuuzou had marked him. 

"Are you alright?", Shuuzou asked quietly, still feeling light-headed, but strangely concerned for the younger man's condition.

Shougo's fingers, clawed into the silk of his pants, slowly loosened their deadly grip. "Yeah. Get over here."

Shuuzou shuffled forwards and bared his own neck for the Omega, feeling more vulnerable than he had ever before on the battlefield. He shivered when a mouth closed around his gland and when the Omega gave it a light suck, he couldn't suppress a moan. Was that a smile against his skin? 

'The asshole', Shuuzou thought, incoherently from the stimulation and he felt his breath quickening and his pants tightening.

Until teeth sunk into the sensitive skin.

Shuuzou couldn't bite back a groan of pain and he dug his nails into the Omega's skin. But then, the pain suddenly faded and was replaced by a wave of pleasure. Shougo's moan of surprise vibrated against Shuuzou's neck and his nails dug deeper into the other's skin. It felt good, it felt so, so good, warm and tingling and humming, full of colours and crisp breezes.

When Shougo pulled back, his cheeks were flushed and pupils dilated. Shuuzou assumed he must look similar if his own gasping breath was anything to go by. And the hardness between his legs.

Shuuzou slid back and fought back the urge to embrace his mate - not only his husband, but his mate! - and make him his in every way.

Shougo's hand was trembling when he made a grab for the dagger on Shuuzou's table to cut himself.

"Be careful", Shuuzou mumbled. “You're trembling.”

"So are you, King Obvious", Shougo spat but it lacked the usual bite. He sloppily made a small cut at the heel of his hand and let the blood drop at a proper place on the sheets, watching the white turn red. When there was enough blood, Shougo wiped the blade on the scarlet silk from his previously torn shirt, placed it back on the bedside table and slipped off the bed, making his way to the adjacent bathroom. “Take care of your damn boner, for fuck's sake. I don't want anything poking me, creep.”

Shuuzou glared at him. “Piss off and take care of your boner yourself. Don't even think about coming to bed until you have.”

"Good night to you too, my lord husband", the knight growled, sarcasm dripping from his exhausted voice.

Shuuzou huffed. "Good night, Prince Shougo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a tiny GoT-reference in here (yeah I know this whole thing is GoT-inspired, but anyway), kudos to you if you noticed :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks to cake, Neko0707, TheAnderfelsOne and hella_fujoshi for commenting on the last chapter! You guys really made my day :)

Shuuzou woke up to an elbow in the ribs, a knee in his groin, a hand on his face and snoring.

The crown prince blinked to get rid of the sleepy fog blurring his vision and groaned tiredly. Not only was his husband and mate an insufferable brat, no, he was also very active in his sleep. Shuuzou had woken up twice that night, the first time when Shougo had kneed him painfully in the stomach, the other time when the sleeping knight had managed to shove Shuuzou out of bed.

Needless to say, the prince's mood was anything else but good. 

Shuuzou removed the hand from his face and froze when Shougo stirred in his sleep and grumbled something incomprehensible. But the younger man just rolled over and stretched over the majority of the bed and started snoring again. Shuuzou sighed quietly in relief and climbed out of bed, carefully as not to wake his husband. Gods knew how insufferable he would be in the mornings.

The prince opened the heavy black curtains a bit and squinted when the light burned his sensitive eyes. Once he adapted to the change of lighting, Shuuzou was able to conclude that it must be early noon according to the sun. For a short moment he wondered why they hadn't been woken up earlier, at dawn like he was used to, but then, the whole court assumed they had been busy the whole night. Naturally, no man or woman would dare to come into the newly wed's bedchamber at dawn to wake them for daily routine.

Shuuzou sighed, this time out loud. His nape was throbbing dully and he absentmindedly touched the purpling skin. It was still sensitive to the touch, making Shuuzou flinch slightly.

He turned to the mirror in the corner of his bedchamber and stepped close to see the Mating Mark even without good lighting. He had to squint quite a bit in the darkness, but there it was: deep violet at the juncture of neck and shoulder. The intense colour would fade until it was the barest hint of violet. 

“Wha' the fuck are ya doin' up, 's night”, a slurred voice came from behind and Shuuzou turned to see his husband propped up on one elbow on the bed.

Shougo's light grey hair was ruffled to no avail and his face was completely scrunched up. His upper body was still bare, same as Shuuzou's, and his doubtlessly expensive silken pants were wrinkled from his tossing and turning while sleeping.

“Good morning to you too”, Shuuzou said, voice still rough from sleep, and shuffled over to the big four-poster bed. “Get up and get out of these pants. It shouldn't be too long until the servants come to wake us and we don't want them to see that we didn't sleep naked, but in our festive garments.”

Shougo groaned and fell back into bed, face first onto the pillows. “Ya talk too much~”

Shuuzou scowled and peeled his soft, black woolen pants off his body. “Come on, punk. Move your arse.”

The prince threw the garment in the general direction of their ripped shirts and walked over to the bed. “Oi. Move.”

Shougo made an obscene gesture in his direction and yelped when Shuuzou ripped the furs and sheets away. The knight jolted upright and took a sloppy swing at his husband's face. Shuuzou dodged the measly, sleep-ridden punch easily.

“There shouldn't be any other bruises than lovebites, sweet husband”, he said dryly, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Now get rid of these damn pants.”

Shougo growled a chain of curses in a heavy fukuda-sogoian accent and nearly tore his trousers in half when starting to pull them off. “There, you fucking asshole. Happy now?”

Shuuzou flicked his mate's forehead with an exasperated sigh and went to ring the bell to call the servants and signal that they were up. Better get it over with rather than making awkward conversation with his new husband in their wedding bed. 

“So, when's the sailing ceremony?”, Shougo asked grumpily once he'd wrenched the left pant over his ankle. “After the burning of the shirts?”

Shuuzou filled himself a cup of water. “Sailing ceremony? Is that a fukuda-sogoian wedding tradition?”

Shougo gave him a _duh_ -look. “You're kidding.”

“I'm not.”

“Oh holy fuck. Aren't ya supposed to know your people and shit, _Crown Prince Shuuzou_?”, Shougo drawled and climbed out of bed. 

Shuuzou noticed that his legs were long and muscled, yet they were as scarred as the rest of the younger man's skin.

“You're one to talk. You can't tell a page from a squire, _Ser Shougo_ ”, Shuuzou bit back. “What is that ceremony?”

The Omega knight groaned and let his head fall back. “Yeah, it's a fukuda-sogoian wedding tradition. Like, your marriage is not, I don't know, complete? Nah, it's more like not blessed. Yeah, it's not blessed until you've sailed with your mate. So yeah, it's a big thing at Fukuda Sogo. My Alpha mother told me about how her fathers had a ship made just for her ceremony when she wed my Omega mother. The sails were blood red with the grey shark of our House on it. The couple chooses the crew, but they captain the damn ship.”

Shuuzou jutted his upper lip out in that characteristic pout of his. He hadn't been born yet when Miku Haizaki wed Chiyo Ishida, the daughter of a major house sworn to Greyport Castle, and there hadn't been any other important weddings on the islands that would have required the royal family's presence. “Do you want one? A sailing ceremony? It could be arranged.”

Shougo looked up, surprised. “Hah? Stop being nice to me!”

'And there it is again', Shuuzou thought darkly. 'The extreme desire to punch him in the face.'

“Just answer the question, punk!”

“Ugh! Why are you such a pain in the ass?! Leave me alone!”

“For fuck's sake, Shougo!”, Shuuzou called angrily. “Just give me a proper response, you five-damned brat!”

“No, I don't!”, Shougo roared. “Are you happy now?!”

“Yes, very! Thank you, punk!”

“Fuck you too!”

A timid knock on the door stopped their yelling feast. “Shuuzou? May we enter?”

'Mother', Shuuzou recognised. “Yes, come in.”

The heavy oak door swung open and two Beta maids rushed in to hand the new couple plain robes of fine, dark blue wool to cover themselves.

Shuuzou gratefully slipped into the robe, it had become a bit chilly just in his undergarments. 

After the two maids, an Itsudansei, two acolytes, Shuuzou's mother Queen Hibiki and Shougo's brother Lord Arata Haizaki entered the room. 

Hibiki strode up to Shougo with a bright smile and Shuuzou did not miss the slightly panicked glance his mate shot his brother, the Lord of Greyport Castle.

“Welcome to our family, Shougo-kun”, Hibiki said warmly and enveloped her son-in-law in an embrace. She let go of him, however, when she noticed his discomfort. “Are you feeling well?”

All eyes where on the Omega knight who had never looked so lost ever since he arrived at court. 

“Uh, yes”, he mumbled and threw a quick look at Shuuzo. “I'm fine. Uh, thank you.”

“Was my impetuous son gentle with you?”

Shougo flushed. “Eh- y-yes. I mean. Yes. He. He was. Uhm.”

Shuuzou masked his snicker with a cough. “Mother, don't you want any details?”

Hibiki clicked her tongue. “Shuuzou, behave.”

Shougo glared daggers at him.

“Prince Shuuzou”, Arata Haizaki spoke up. The Warden of Fukuda Sogo looked almost just like his younger brother: light grey hair, silver eyes and lips that seemed to be frozen in a constant smirk. He was as tall as Shougo, but he had broader shoulders and his hair was longer than his brother's, tied in a small braid at the side. “My brother is completely yours now.”

Shougo ground his teeth at that and grumbled: “I'm a knight, not a toy, brother.”

Arata ignored his brother's input. “I trust you to take good care of him, the way you promised. If anything should happen to him, Fukuda Sogo will not hesitate to-”

Shuuzou offered a polite smile and cut him off. “Of course, Lord Haizaki. I am well aware of that.”

“Now!”, Hibiki called. “Let us complete this ceremony and leave the newly weds to themselves.”

She winked at her son and Shuuzou forced himself to smile while his stomach twisted.

The two acolytes stepped forward, offered a quick bow and Shuuzou dutifully craned his neck so that his acolyte could inspect his Mating Mark. The boy quickly brushed over the purpling bite, making Shuuzou wince slightly, and stepped back to give the Itsudansei a nod.

Shougo looked like he wanted to strangle the poor acolyte inspecting his Mark, he made it even worse for the poor boy by emitting angry pheromones and refusing to crane his neck. When the acolyte finally was able to check the Mark properly, he, too, gave a confirming nod.

The Itsudansei motioned for the maids who had picked up the torn silk shirts from the night before and the two women offered one half of the blood red and one of the white shirt to each of the new couple.

Shuuzou went over to the fireplace where the maids had sparked a small fire, Shougo at his heels.

“In the light of the gods”, the Itsudansei intoned.. “Shuuzou of House Nijimura and Shougo of House Haizaki have consummated their marriage. Their union is true, blessed by the holy Itsukami above. They are now lawfully one soul, for eternity and beyond.”

“For eternity and beyond”, Shougo and Shuuzou echoed and placed the ripped fabric in the flames. The words left a foul taste in their mouths.

Shuuzou touched his nape, absentmindedly, and it throbbed under his fingers. 

The flames licked at the silk and Hibiki smiled. “Come here, my son.”

Shuuzou bowed and kissed his mother's hand. “Thank you, Mother.”

When Arata tried to squeeze his brother's shoulder reassuringly, Shougo flinched away, eyes stubbornly cast on the floor. 

“You sold me”, Shougo hissed under his breath while Shuuzou's mother fussed over her son. “You _sold_ me to _him_ like some expensive whore!”

“I didn't get any money for this deal, in case you didn't notice! Did you think that I did this _willingly?!_ ”, Arata whispered sharply. “Shou, did you two-”

“Lord Haizaki!”, Hibiki called with her warm, welcoming smile. “It is time for us to leave the newly weds. A light meal will be prepared within the next hour, we would be delighted to take it with you, Shuuzou, Shougo-kun.”

Shuuzou forced a smile, but his stomach was starting to churn again at the thought of eating at the side of his mate and husband.

“I hate you so fucking much, you know that?”, Shougo growled once the queen, his brother, the Itsuningen and the maids had left them to themselves. 

Shuuzou was too tired to punch him or snap back, so he flicked the younger man's forehead instead. “Same, dear husband.”


	5. The only friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your support! I'm really, really happy that you guys enjoy this story and I hope that I won't disappoint y'all :)

Kaito's Keep, the royal palace of House Nijimura, was huge. Behind impregnable, thick stone walls, the castle had walls of glass, breaking the sunlight so that it reflected rainbow light. It looked truly magnificent and on some days, when the sun had just the right position, the vitreous fortress even glowed.

Shougo hated it already.

“Haizaki-kun, you should smile more.”

The knight stared at the smaller man walking next to him and growled an incredulous: “Hah?!”

Tetsuya Kuroko was no knight. His hair and eyes were pale blue and he was so quiet that he was also dubbed as “the Shadow of Seirin” by Teiko. Tetsuya didn't take any offense, on the contrary, he made it his official pseudonym, the same way as Ryouta Kise was called “Golden Knight”, Shougo himself “the Pillager”, Seijuurou Akashi “Emperor of Swords”. That Shintarou Midorima was sometimes called “carrot knight” was something that they preferred to keep from him. It was rather unfortunate to have green hair and be born into a family whose colour was orange. 

“This is your new home”, Tetsuya said in his deadpan voice. His resemblance to his bastard brother Chihiro Mayuzumi who served House Akashi was striking in moments like these. “You might as well pretend to like it.”

“Why?”, Shougo grumbled and crossed his arms behind his head. “Pretending's not my forte, but that sissy Ryouta's. I take what is mine, I don't _copy_ it.”

Tetsuya frowned in dismay. “Haizaki-kun, Kise-kun was one of your best friends while we were fostered at court. What happened?”

“I returned home”, Shougo said curtly and hopped between two merlons. He could see the sea from here, where the Brightstream joined the great waves of the ocean. If he had a ship, it would take only three days to reach Barecliff, House Mochizuki's seat, if the winds were good. Sure, he had pissed off their heir Kazuhiro multiple times in the past, but well, he couldn't stand him. Still, Lady Mochizuki would never refuse her liege lord's brother hospitality. She couldn't afford it. Now, if he could only somehow bribe a captain-

“Stop”, Tetsuya said unsually sharply. “You're thinking about an escape.”

Shougo whirled around. “Hah? No, I wasn't!”

“You were.”

“I wasn't!”

“No, you were.”

“I told you, I _wasn't!”_

Tetsuya sighed. “Haizaki-kun, I understand that you're unhappy.”

“You understand shit, Tetsuya”, Shougo growled and leaned against the merlon. They were tall, almost as tall as him if you stood on the ground. “When was the last time _you_ were used as some sort of mortgage for your lord's loyalty, huh?”

“Never, of course”, Tetsuya said and brushed strands of light blue hair out of his face. “But you could have had worse, Haizaki-kun. Imagine Hara-san from Kirisaki Daiichi. The heir to Lavenderbane.”

“Kazuya Hara and I got along pretty well, y'know.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“From what you've told me, though”, the smaller man continued, “Nijimura-san has been nothing but mindful of your shared situation. I do believe that this is a good way to start a marriage.”

Shougo chuckled without any humour. “Easy for you to say. You love Bakagami.”

“I don't think love is an impossibility for you and Nijimura-san, Haizaki-kun”, Tetsuya said with a straight face and Shougo almost fell off the wall.

“The fuck?!”, he called. “Are you drunk or something?!”

“No, I'm completely sober.”

The silver-haired man jumped back on the ground. “Unfortunately, me too and I need a fucking drink right now because of that fucking comment you just made.”

Tetsuya didn't sigh this time, but followed his friend. “Will you be accompanying Nijimura-san for the trip to Kaijo?”

“What trip to Kaijo?”, Shougo asked and crossed his arms behind his head. “As if I'm gonna willingly move my ass to the Goldieland.”

“The great tourney in honour of Lady Sayuri's birthday. Everyone has been talking about it at your wedding feast, Haizaki-kun.”

“Sorry”, Shougo drawled and flopped onto one of the benches in the winter gardens of the palace. “I was kinda busy hating my new husband.”

A servant passed by and he barked at her to fetch rum.

“M-my apologies, Your Highness”, she stuttered. “We don't have rum. I-if you would want some wine-”

Shougo's angry look was enough to send her scurrying off.

“Rum is a sailor's drink, Haizaki-kun”, Tetsuya said and inspected the Sakura tree growing in the winter garden. “If you wish to have some, you'll have to have it imported from Fukuda Sogo.”

“What holdfast doesn't stock rum?”, Shougo growled angrily and kicked at the pebbles on the ground.

“Kaito's Keep, Shadowhall, Goldhaven, Blue Peak, Shield of Aegis, The Web, Greenhills-”

“Shut up! I didn't want an answer to that question!”

Tetsuya frowned. “Haizaki-kun, I would appreciate a bit of politeness. Now, will you come to the tourney?”

Shougo grinned wickedly and flexed his fingers, aching for the hilt of a saber or a lance. “I get the chance to knock one of your Miracle fuckers off their horses. Of course I'll be there.”

The smaller man sighed, but smiled nevertheless. “Then, I will take my leave and see you there.”

Shougo sat up and scowled. “Hold up. You're leaving?”

“Of course. I have a son and a husband waiting at home and I _do_ have political duties to take care of. I cannot stay at Kaito's Keep forever, I'm heir to Shadowhall.”

Shougo grimaced. “And I'm heir to Greyport Castle, but look where I am. But really, can't you stay a few more days?”

Tetsuya shook his head. “No. The rest of the harvest is to bring in for winter is coming. My presence in Seirin is required, I'm afraid.”

Shougo felt a knot in his stomach tightening and swallowed the lump in his throat. It was only thanks to Tetsuya that he had survived the past two weeks at the palace. If he would admit it or not, Tetsuya was his only friend here and he was about to leave.

“Haven't you brought any of your guards or servants from Greyport Castle?”, Tetsuya inquired, somehow guessing the taller man's thoughts yet again. 

“You're forgetting why I'm here, Tetsuya”, Shougo muttered. “This wasn't a normal arranged marriage where the Omega can bring as many guards and servants in their service to their mate's castle. Nijimura didn't hesitate to request a dowry, but that and my own stuff was all I was allowed to bring. Sucks to be me.”

“Self-pity doesn't suit you, Haizaki-kun.”

“Neither does a Mating Mark, for fuck's sake.” Shougo crossed his legs and closed his eyes for a second. Without Tetsuya, the court life would be much more tedious. He might even have to face his stupid ass husband. “When will you leave?”

“Tomorrow at dawn”, Tetsuya said. “Will you come bid me farewell?”

Shougo shrugged. “Probably.” Then he gulped. “You'll write me, right?”

Tetsuya's deadpan expression softened. “If you wish so.”

“Don't make it sound so sentimental, idiot!”, Shougo barked and fought to keep his cheeks from flushing. “Wait, when's that stupid tourney?”

“At the end of the next moon.”

“That's soon.”

“If it's in honour of Lady Sayuri's birthday, it should be held on Lady Sayuri's birthday.”

“I forgot what a sassy piece of shit you can be.”

“Is that a way to treat your only friend at court?”

Shougo shot him a foul look and rose while stretching. “I'm gonna go to the coast. Ya comin' with me?”

The Shadow of Seirin frowned. “Haizaki-kun, you're Prince Consort. You can't just leave for a trip to the beach.”

“I can and I fucking will. This damn Mark doesn't hinder me.”

“Actually, it does.”

Shougo growled and threw a pebble against the glass walls of the winter garden. “I fucking hate this.”

“The flowers are not at fault, Haizaki-kun.”

“Fuck, isn't there some cure for your sass?!”

“I don't think so. Please do inform me if you should discover your medical streak so that I will never take any of your medicine.”

“How does Kagami even deal with you?!”, Shougo groaned and rubbed his face. 

Tetsuya blinked, his deadpan expression not wavering once. “In bed he usually-”

“ooKAY, let's stop this right hERE!”


	6. The Spar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't I say that I would try to get this chapter up on Thursday? Well, uh, I'm sorry? I was unexpectedly dragged off to a family visit and they wouldn't give me the WiFi code. Ugh.  
> However, thank you guys _so, so much_ for your comments and your support! I love y'all!  <3

If there was one thing Shougo hated even more than being married and living at court, it was being tutored. After Shuuzou had witnessed how small Shougo's knowledge of noble houses of Teiko was, he had shoved him into a room with a ferocious Alpha man who had taught the crown prince himself when he was still a child. Shougo could dimly remember him – he had not only taught Shuuzou, but also his foster siblings, including Shougo himself, in the basics of history and heraldry before they were given into Naoto Sanada's care for further tutoring. It wasn't like Greyport Castle hadn't been able to offer tutoring for Shougo after his return – he just hadn't bothered to show up and his mother and brother haven't had the time to scold him for it; they were the only people at Fukuda Sogo he would ever listen to.

“Prince Shougo, you are to visit Kaijo within a few weeks!”, Daigo Matsuoka exclaimed in exasperation.

“I know!”, Shougo barked and laid his head on top of the heavy book Matsuoka-sensei was currently drilling him on. “You've only mentioned that half a million times!”

“Your Highness, you will bring _shame_ to House Nijimura! I can't believe how little you've changed since I taught you as a boy!”

Shougo glared at the middle-aged man, but couldn't bring himself to sit up and continue. His head was swimming with names, holdfasts and sigils that had been crammed into his head.

“Sit up”, he ordered and Shougo complied unwillingly. Matsuoka-sensei pointed at a holdfast on the western coast. 

“Rakuzan”, Shougo muttered. “Emperor's Eye. House Akashi. Lord Masaomi, Lady Shiori, she's deceased. Warden of Rakuzan. Heir is Ser Seijuurou. Words: _We Are The Absolute._ A white lion upon a red and gold field.”

The man's finger wandered to a holdfast in the mountains in Touou. 

“Touou. Blue Peak. House Aomine”, Shougo drawled. He hadn't forgotten his last encounter with Daiki. “Lord Katashi, Lady Masuyo. Warden of Touou. Heir is Ser Daiki. Words: _The Only One To Beat Me Is Me._ A dark-blue panther upon a black field.”

Another holdfast, this time in the Old Forest. 

“Shutoku. Greenhills. House Midorima. Lord Tetsurou, Lady Natsumi. Heir is Ser Shintarou.” There was no way he'd forget the “carrot knight” with his ridiculous green hair and orange cloak. “He's married to Kazunari Takao of Hawk's Eyrie. Warden of Shutoku. Words: _Men Propose, Gods Dispose._ Five silver stars upon an orange field.”

“Yes”, Matsuoka-sensei said, but he was scowling. “And the other trueborn child of Lord Tetsurou and Lady Natsumi?”

Shougo groaned. “There's another one?”

“ _Yes._ ”

The Pillager tried to remember a green-haired girl he had surely seen at least once...

“... Sakiko? Sakiko Midorima?”

The bamboo twig was slapped onto his fingers and Shougo yelped.

“Saeko Midorima”, Matsuoka-sensei said sharply and pointed at another holdfast on the map. “This one.”

Shougo rubbed his stinging fingers and shot his tutor a disgruntled look. Being scolded like a rambunctious child with a bamboo twig – who was he again, a stray lordling or the future king consort?

“Yosen”, he grumbled. “Shield of Aegis. House Murasakibara. Lord Nobuyuki and Lady Akemi. Five trueborn children. Heiress is Ser Ayumi, betrothed to Lady Nagisa Kise of Goldhaven. Ser Kazuki, Ser Terumi, Ser Atsushi. Ward-”

“Should I drill you on your numbers as well, Prince Shougo?”, Matsuoka-sensei interrupted him harshly. According to you, Lord Murasakibara and Lady Murasakibara have five trueborn children, this is true, but you named only four.”

“Hikari!”, Shougo sputtered and hid his hands from the tutor's bamboo twig. “Lord Hikari, elder to Ser Atsushi, younger brother to Ser Terumi. Right?”

The man nodded. “Yes. Now, continue.”

“Warden of Yosen. Words: _Fear Our Wrath._ ” Shougo hoped they were done here soon. “Black hammer upon a purple field.”

“Very well. This one should be easy.”

Shougo smirked when Matsuoka-sensei pointed at the islands that had been his home.

“Fukuda Sogo”, he said and couldn't help but sound proud. “Greyport Castle. House Haizaki. Lord Arata. His mother, Lady Chiyo. I'm the heir. Words: _We Bring The Storm._ A grey shark upon a bloodred field.”

“Next one.”

“Kaijo. Goldhaven”, Shougo said and sneered. He hadn't forgiven Ryouta for Winterfield and he would never forget it. “House Kise. Lord Yuudai and Lady Hotaru. Heiress is Lady Sayuri, married to Kouji Kobori of Pentower. They have one son, Mikoto. Lady Nagisa, betrothed to Ayumi Murasakibara of Shield of Aegis. Ser Ryouta, said to be courting Daiki Aomine of Blue Peak. Warden of Kaijo. Words: _Honesty, Ferocity, Victory._ Golden sun upon a white and blue field.”

The tutor's finger wandered to the east of Teiko were Shoei'i lands had been before being destroyed. 

“Seirin. Shadowhall. House Kuroko. Lord Yashiro and Lady Hinata. Heir is Lord Tetsuya. Lord Kuroko has another son, a bastard. Tetsuya is wed to Taiga Kagami, heir of Starfire Fort. They have a son, Lord Takeru.” It felt wrong to call a babe a lord, but this babe was the future Warden of Seirin. “Warden of Seirin. Words: _The Shadow Makes The Light._ Two black dogs upon a light blue field.”

“At least you know about the High Lords”, Matsuoka-sensei grumbled. “You will have to know about the kaijori noble Houses at least, Your Highness. Return tomorrow at the same time.”

Shougo was out of the room in a matter of seconds. He took a deep breath once he was outside, relishing in the fresh air untainted by the dust of old books. The salty winds of the sea would be even better, but he took what he got. 

'Kaijori nobles', Shougo thought bitterly and wandered down the corridors. 'Fucking Goldies and their happy-go-lucky attitude. I hate them and Ryouta is the worst of them all. As if I have nothing better to do than learn about their heraldry and dynasties, for fuck's sake.'

He heard the clanking noises of steel hitting steel and turned to the training yard of the castle. Thanks to the vitreous walls in this part of the castle, he could spot his husband training with a knight of the Crownguard. Shougo felt the itch in his fingers to grab a weapon and join in and for the first time in weeks, he gave in.

With a wolfish smile on his face, Shougo ran down the stairs, almost knocked over a maid and a servant, and stormed into the yard.

“Oi!”, he shouted and Shuuzou and his opponent stopped. “If you want a real fight, face me!”

The knight of the Crownguard seemed vaguely familiar to Shougo, but he couldn't pinpoint from where he could know him. Probably the wedding. But he sure knew he was pissed when said knight chuckled.

“What?!”, he barked angrily.

“Shougo, you have the honour of addressing Prince Haruka Nijimura, my father's brother, the First Knight of his Crownguard”, Shuuzou said with an amused smirk. “He has a higher rank than you. Address him appropriately.”

Shougo felt rage and anticipation boiling in the pit of his stomach. “I will once he's beaten me.”

“Boy”, Haruka Nijimura said with a low chuckle. “You don't stand a chance against me. But I would feel more than pleased to put you in your place.”

The younger man ground his teeth and yelled at Shuuzou's young squire whose name he had forgotten to fetch him his saber. Five minutes later, his weapon lay in his right hand, its comfortable weight making Shougo remember how it was to be free and independent.

Shuuzou himself leant against one of the stone pillars, still smirking, the self-righteous bastard. Shougo would show him that he was not some random Omega who could be locked up in a dusty library, he was a feared knight and captain and _damn it all_ , he would be acknowledged as such.

Haruka Nijimura – now Shougo could see the resemblance to Shuuzou in the black hair albeit streaked with silver and arched brows – twirled his longsword and moved into the right stance. He was smiling and it pissed Shougo off. 

“Come at me, boy. I'll give you the advantage of attack.”

Shougo clicked his tongue in disdain and his scowl deepened. “Get ready to get smacked into the dust, old man.”

His opponent's smirk widened and when Shougo swung his saber at him, the knight paried it with ease.

The _clank_ of steel on steel resonated from the walls and Shougo could see that the knight's arms were trembling from the force of his blow. He couldn't help but smirk at that.

“A strong one, aren't you”, Haruka Nijimura said, but his infuriating smile stayed. “We'll see if you're a smart one as well.”

The taller knight sidestepped and twisted his wrist so that his longsword slipped from under Shougo's blade and made the younger man whirl around.

Fukuda sogoian swordfight differed from the way it was taught on teikoan mainland. Mostly because the islanders used sabers instead of longswords or greatswords. They usually fought without a shield as well and with minimal armour in case their ships sunk. Haruka Nijimura's longsword was heavier and, well, _longer_ and it had been a while since Shougo had faced off against a talented knight with a weapon like this.

The Sworn Knight's blow made Shougo's teeth clatter, but he caught it and dove underdeath the man's outstretched arms, whipping his saber around and if this was real battle, he would've taken the knight's head off.

However, Haruka Nijimura paried the strike with his shield with a force that made Shougo stumble backwards.

Shougo ground his teeth. His shoulder was aching and numb from that one blow he had paried and his wrist was anything but amused about his twists and twirls after such a long time of not holding a weapon.

“You're not as bad as they say you are”, Haruka said and moved into a defensive stance. “Come on. Is that all you got, boy?”

Shougo glared at the other man. “Everyone's heard of The Pillager, old man, but you're nothing but another knight of the Crownguard no one will remember.”

With these words, the silver-haired man launched forwards, ducked backwards under a strike of the longsword and jammed the hilt of his saber onto the man's shield hand's thumb's saddle joint. 

The knight grunted in pain and was forced to drop his shield and carelessly yank his sword up to pary another blow.

Shougo could feel laughter bubbling inside his chest and his wolfish grin widened even more. 

“Is that all, old man?!”, he cackled and swung his saber to cant it with the longsword and rip it out of his uncle-in-law's hand.

Haruka Nijimura was not smiling anymore when he brought his elbow down on Shougo's own, making pain flare up his arm and forcing him to drop the saber.

“You fucker!”, Shougo growled and clutched his elbow. The fingers on his right hand were twitching uncontrollably and his whole arm was both numb and grossly tingling. The other knight had jammed his armoured elbow right onto a nerve, as it seemed.

There it was again, that damned smirk.

“A good fight, nephew”, Haruka Nijimura said and sheathed his sword. Despite his smirk, it was evident that he had been worried for his victory in this fight. “Maybe one day you shall even beat me.”

Shougo glared at him and rolled his numb shoulder to get some feeling back into his arm. “One day'll come sooner than ya want, old man. And I'm not your fuckin' nephew!”

The Sworn Knight of the Crownguard didn't pay him any mind and turned to his actual nephew with a nod. “You've got yourself quite a ferocious Omega, Shuuzou.”

Shuuzou had been observing the whole fight with his signature pout. 

“Omega or not, uncle”, the crown prince replied, his gaze resting on his cursing mate. “His dynamic is not important to me. He almost beat you. You were wrong to underestimate him.”

Haruka blinked once, then bowed. “As you say. Shall we continue our sparring?”

Shuuzou waved him off. “It's fine, uncle. Go on, do your duty. Let us continue another day.”

The Sworn Knight bowed once more and strode off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: time to travel to Kaijo! ^^


	7. The Voyage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My router is broken and I can count myself lucky if I have an internet connection on my laptop where this story is saved on. I wanted to post this on Monday or Tuesday but alas, vodafone hates me.

“Why the fuck would you need all these people?!”

Shuuzou didn't have the force to snap back at his husband. Shougo's sleeping habits were getting to him – he had barely gotten any sleep last night and he was seriously thinking about requesting different quarters at Goldhaven. He yearned for a full night of sleep for once.

“Did you think we'd do a little road trip, just you, me and my siblings?”, Shuuzou said dryly and climbed onto Chouwa's back. The black mare had been a gift for his sixteenth birthday and he loved that horse. “It's customary to bring a small part of the court and a handful of representatives of minor houses if one is a High Lord. Which I kind of am, in case you didn't notice, punk.”

“Fuck you”, Shougo spat, but it didn't pack the usual spite. It was not even dawn yet, even the Pillager was tired. He was clad in rough riding clothes and wrapped in a black leather cloak with fur against the early autumn cold. His boots were still typically fukuda-sogoian. Shougo turned to one of the stable boys and called: “Oi! Fetch me my horse!”

The boy blinked owlishly. “ 'm sorry, Your Highness, but don't you travel in the carriage?”

“The carriage?!”, Shougo repeated and whipped around to point at his husband. “Did you order that?!”

“I had better things to do than to organise your way of travelling, you know”, Shuuzou growled and let the stable boys readjust the cinch. “You. Don't look so damn frightened, boy. Fetch my husband's horse.”

The boy was quickly becoming paler than Tetsuya Kuroko. “ 'pologies, m'lord, which one's that?”

His colleague elbowed him in the ribs and bowed to the crown prince. “Sorry, Your Highness! He's new! I'll take care of it! At once!”

A few minutes later, Shougo's dapple grey gelding was led out of the stables, saddled and bridled with perked up ears. Shougo's scowling face lit up a little when he went over to pet his horse.

“Hey Nami”, he mumbled and the dapple grey whinnied quietly and nudged its nose against the knight's palm. “Been a long time, boy.”

“Shougo!”, Shuuzou called impatiently. They were ready to depart, his sister and her ladies in waiting in the carriage, his brother and all the knights, guards and lordlings on horseback, the servants on the wagons with the luggage. “Hurry up, punk!”

Shougo barked a curse and swung himself up, relishing in the familiar feeling of a saddle between his legs. Even though it was one of these fancy mainland saddles, not the rough, sturdy leather ones he was used to. But sitting on horseback was almost as good as sailing again.

The great oaken gate was pushed open and the royal party left Kaito's Keep to make the one week long voyage to the southron Kaijo.

Shougo rode up to his husband and sneered at him. “Don't fucking lie to me. You wanted me to travel in the goddamn carriage, didn't ya?!”

Shuuzou was tired, irritated and annoyed. He desired nothing more than to shove his mate off his horse. 

“Hey, don't ignore me!”

Shuuzou's head whipped around and he must have glared really badly if the look of surprise that crossed the younger man's face was anything to go by. 

“Gods be damned, Shougo!”, he growled. “How fucking petty do you think I am, hah?! I have a damn _kingdom_ in the aftermath of war to rule, my father's sickness is getting worse and worse, there is a revolution brewing across the Vast Sea, meikoan, shoei'i and kamizakish rebels are riding through my lands, for fuck's sake, do you really think I would invest time and energy in making sure you _travel in a fucking carriage just to piss you off?!_ ”

Shougo didn't reply to that and turned his head to fix his gaze stubbornly on the way before them. Crownwell was far from asleep at this hour, drunkards from the night before were staggering through the streets, the bakeries were already busy and fishermen returned from their morning tour. Servants and maids were running errands for their employers and the blacksmiths started heating up their forges. A couple of the people already up stopped in their tracks to stare at the royal party with wide eyes. 

“What happened to Meiko, Shoei and Kamizaki?”, Shougo asked after they had exited the city through Kohaku's Gate, named after Queen Kohaku I Nijimura, also called the Queen of Walls for she had built the second ring of the city walls and all the new gates. 

Shuuzou threw him a weary look. “Shouldn't you know? It's the whole reason why your mother and brother decided to sail against Crownwell. The reason you're here.”

“I know that they were trampled, alright!”, Shougo spat. “I meant the lords. Forgot their names.”

The crown prince sighed deeply, too tired to yell at his husband in front of the entire party again. “I had hope that Matsuoka-sensei would beat some damn knowledge into you.”

“I can name every kaijori noble, the High Lords, their spouses, children, words, holdfasts, sigils. Well, maybe not all kaijori nobles, but close enough. The important ones. Wasn't necessary to learn about the dead houses for this trip.”

Shuuzou groaned. “Now I gotta educate you as well? Fucking punk.”

Shougo's eyes lit up with anger, but before he could open his mouth to insult his husband, said husband continued talking: “Lord Daisuke Ogiwara, his brothers, sister, wife and daughters were killed. Meiko's heir and Lord Daisuke's only son, thereby the new Warden of Meiko Shigehiro Ogiwara was held captive until his spirit broke and he surrendered.”

“So the song _Men of Meiko_...”

“It's not entirely appropriate. Father ordered to have Lord Daisuke's female relatives killed as well to make Shigehiro more pliable. But yes”, Shuuzou said bitterly, “that song is about the slaughtering of House Ogiwara and its bannermen at Eleven Towers.”

Shuuzou had openly told his father that he despised him for the Meiko massacre. King Takeshi was a good king, everyone said so, and no one had objected when he ordered House Ogiwara to be murdered except for young Ser Shigehiro. No one thought that this decision would lead to another war. Despite the event's sheer cruelty and its fatal consequences, _Men of Meiko_ was a song sung all over the realm.

“House Kiyoshi of Iron Heart still exists, as you should know, punk”, Shuuzo said. “Lord Yamato Kiyoshi surrendered, but his son Taichi still marched against Seirin and Yosen. Lord Yamato was pardoned, as was his wife Kaede. Lord Taichi was executed, his wife sent into exile. The reigning lords of their bannermen executed or thrown into the dungeon. Lord Yamato's grandson Ser Teppei who had surrendered on the battlefield was pardoned as well, Lord Kuroko's wish. Iron Heart is now sworn to Shadowhall.”

“House Inoue of Maroonwood was trampled by Blue Peak after putting up a good fight in their first few battles. Young Lord Tomoya laid his sword to Ser Daiki's feet. He is still reigning there... under House Imayoshi's constant surveillance and an oath to Blue Peak.”

Shougo grimaced. House Imayoshi of Redlake was known for its exceptional trade in information – no one had as many spies as them and they were eternally loyal to Blue Peak. Not only did Blue Peak receive information from Redlake, but also from Rosevale where House Momoi had its seat. No one wanted to have Touou for their enemy. The only enemy even worse to have than Blue Peak was Emperor's Eye. No one had ever dared to go up against Rakuzan before the war where Touou, Seirin and Shutoku had fought the lions of House Akashi on the battlefield.

“I wish I had been here to convince my father to not give the order of a _butcher_ in regards to Meiko”, Shuuzou said bitterly and Shougo felt at a loss to see the easily irritated crown prince so rueful. “What could I do across the Vast Sea in Angeles? Receive hawks with news and board a ship while you Miracles slaughtered House Ogiwara and its bannermen.”

“About Angeles”, Shougo said, uncharacteristically thoughtful. “You said there's a revolution.”

Shuuzou's expression darkened even further. “Yes.”

“What kind? Like Meiko and Shoei and Kamizaki?”

The crown prince shook his head and glanced at the sea, bathed in the orange glow of the rising sun. “No. The reports we're receiving from Queen Alexandra are much worse.”

Shougo frowned and tried to imagine a revolution worse than the last uprising of three teikoan lands. The war of Three Forestkings – Seiho, Shutoku and Senshinkan – had been bloody and cruel under the rule of some ancestor of Shuuzou, but the Meiko massacre had been even worse than even that.

“They call themselves _Jabberwock_ ”, Shuuzou said darkly. “And sooner or later they'll sail across the Vast Sea.”


	8. Goldhaven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you for your support! I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter as well :)

Goldhaven was a high, sleek castle of white stone sitting high upon the cliffs of South Port, the great southron port of Teiko, an important station for traders. Four slender towers pierced the sky and the massive fifth in the centre threw a dark shadow upon the approaching delegation.

'Haruno's Holdfast', Shuuzou thought and stared at the massive tower. 'Surrounded by Kaori's, Ryouko's, Chinatsu's and Fuyue's Towers. The four sisters of Lady Haruno Kise, the lady of the Cliff who build Goldhaven after pirate ships had destroyed House Kise's original seat, Mirrorfort.'

Mirrorfort had been impregnable, or so it had been said, until pirates had fired cannons at it. Lady Kise's troops annihilated the pirates, but Mirrorfort was beyond repair. Therefore she had moved to Goldhaven, intended to be a summer residency, and dispatched more builders to South Port in order to make Goldhaven a proper fortress and the new seat of House Kise.

“Open the gates!”, a guard shouted from the high white walls. “Open the gates for His Highness the prince!”

The entrance to Goldhaven was a massive iron gate with the sun of House Kise carved into the metal. When the great gate swung open, the court of Yuudai Kise, Lord of Goldhaven, Warden of Kaijo, bowed deeply at the arrival of the royal party.

Shuuzou pulled off his riding gloves while a stable boy took the reins from him. The prince glanced into the bowing crowd and slid from his horse.

“Rise”, he called and strode over to his hosts.

Lord Kise was tall, taller than his son Ryouta and Shuuzou, with shining black hair and eyes of molten gold. He had the incredible long lashes each of his children had inherited and a charming smile that hid his cunning wit.

“Your Highness”, Yuudai Kise said, his voice smooth and deep. It was only up close that one could smell his Omega dynamic. “Welcome to Goldhaven. It delights and honours us to have you here.”

“Thank you, Lord Kise”, Shuuzou said politely and offered a smile to Hotaru Kise, Yuudai's Omega wife, a woman of golden hair, fair skin and blue eyes. “Lady Kise, you look magnificent.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Your Highness. Please excuse the absence of our daughters – you have arrived earlier than we expected.”

“Nijimuracchi!”

Shuuzou couldn't help but grin and let himself be tackle-hugged by Ryouta, the youngest child of Lord and Lady Kise.

“Ryouta, gods be good, behave!”, his mother called in horror at her youngest's display, but Shuuzou waved her off.

“It's quite alright, Lady Kise”, he said and peeled the clingy knight off him. “He's a dear friend.”

Ryouta beamed like the sun upon his words. His hair had been cut a bit since the wedding and he wore a dark-blue doublet with golden embroidery, a white tunic, silken black pants and shining black boots. His steel earring glinted in the sunlight.

“Ah, Prince Shougo”, Lady Kise said and curtsied before the crown prince's husband who had just shuffled over, unsure of what to do. “Marriage is doing well for you.”

Shougo was intelligent enough not say something disrespectful and stupid. He was too tired and too sore anyway – he wanted nothing more than a bath and clean clothes.

“Thank you, Lady Kise”, he muttered and threw an angry look at Ryouta, who was happily chatting away with Princess Mika while Lord Kise spoke to Prince Ken. Fucking Goldies and their happy-go-lucky attitude.

“May I introduce our party, Lord Kise?”, Ken said with a polite smile.

“Ken”, Shuuzou cut him off after glancing at his husband and their whole delegation who were tired and exhausted from the voyage and wished for a bath and food rather than exchanging formalities. “We've ridden for a long time. Let us postpone the pleasantries in favour of refreshing ourselves.”

Shougo shot his husband a weary glare. 'When did that fucker start talking so posh? Fucking hells.'

“Of course”, Lady Kise said. “It must have been an exhausting journey. The autumn winds are particularly vicious in meik- formerly meikoan lands. Our steward will see you to your chambers in Ryouko's Tower at once.”

On cue, a horde of servants started helping the party's own servants unloading the luggage while the nobles themselves were led into one of the slender towers of Goldhaven.

Mika and Ken received chambers next to each other and Tooru Sekiguchi, Ken's betrothed, was led to a chamber as far away from Ken's as possible. Some maids had been chattering about how the pair spent some nights together and the last thing Shuuzou needed was talk about his brother and current heir being a wanton even if Ken had assured him that they had not gotten intimate and followed the rules of courtship. The other knights and lordlings and ladies were assigned to their rooms by maids and servants, the steward himself showed the prince and his husband to their chamber.

“I hope these rooms are to your liking, Your Highnesses”, he said and pushed the door open. Kaijo was famous for its white trees and therefore wooden white furniture. The big four poster bed was made of heavy white wood, as were the tables, chairs. Thick rugs covered the floor and dark-blue curtains were drawn shut to keep out the noon's heat, that would soon come.

“They are”, Shuuzou said and barely suppressed a yawn. “Is a bath drawn?”

“It is, Your Highness. In the adjacent room. Do you or your husband wish for maids to help you?”

Shuuzou shrugged. “I do not. Ask Prince Shougo himself, he is fully capable of responding, I assure you.”

Shougo rolled his eyes. “I can clean myself, don't need maids for that.”

The steward bowed, informed them of the bell to ring should they need anything, and left.

“I want a whole night of sleep”, Shuuzou grumbled. “So don't even think about kicking me again.”

“I was asleep!”, Shougo spat and shed his cloak, gloves and boots. “I can't control it!”

“I'll shove you out of bed if you do it again.”

“What the fuck”, Shougo snarled. “You're really fucking childish when you're tired, Your Majesty.”

Shuuzou whipped around and fixed his mate with a hard glare. “Don't call me that, punk. My father is alive. _He_ is the king.”

The silver-haired man snorted, wriggled out of his pants and shirt and paraded in nothing but his undergarments into the adjacent bathroom.

Shuuzou shed his own clothes and followed him. There was a big tub filled with steaming hot water and Shougo, who was already inside the tub – it was more like a pool, one could actually swim in it if they wished to – growled at him.

“What the fuck do you think you're doing, hah?!”

Shuuzou removed his undergarments and slipped into the water with a content sigh. “Bathing, punk.”

Shougo's face was completely flushed and he scarmbled to the other end of the tub, hugging his knees. “If you come near me, I'll chop your dick off.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever”, Shuuzou muttered and relished in the feeling of the hot water soothing his tense muscles. “I told you I'm not gonna force you to consummate the marriage. I just want a bath, idiot.”

Shougo was still scowling, but he relaxed and let his legs stretch out again. The whole room was filled with humid steam and the scent of the oils the maids had poured into the pool.

“You gonna participate in the tourney?”, Shougo asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence. His silver hair was sticking to his skull and made him look more omegan than ever before.

“Of course”, Shuuzou said lazily and stretched. His back made a satisfying clacking noise. “Jousting and swordfight. Will you?”

“Yeah”, Shougo said and smirked. “Jousting, swordfight, archery. I'm gonna beat your and your colourful Miracles' asses.”

“Mh, I don't think so.”

“Oi!”

Shuuzou smirked and grabbed one of the soft cloths meant for washing, dunked it in the water and poured scented oil on it before rubbing the sweat and dirt of the voyage from his arms. 

“Holy shit”, Shougo mumbled when he sniffed at the vials containing the oils. “Don't they have something less flowery? What do these damn Goldies think we are, pre-presented girls?”

“I guess these are typical Omega scents”, Shuuzo said while scrubbing his torso. “Try the second vial from the left. It smells of mint.”

Shougo grabbed the vial, sniffed at it and gagged. “Mint?! Are you fucking kidding me?! This is rosewater!”

Shuuzou laughed and a flicker of surprise crossed the younger man's face at the sound. “Your grimace was hilarious. No, seriously, the one beside it. With the blue wax. That's the minty one.”

Shougo shot his mate a weary look and sniffed at that vial. It was actually mint-scented oil and the best he could get out of these flowery piss scents.

“I should probably tell you”, Shuuzou said slowly. “No fukuda sogoian house is invited.”

The knight halted in his scrubbing for a heartbeat, then continued. “No surprise there. We islanders and the Goldies aren't exactly friends.”

“Because of Winterfield?”

Shougo clicked his tongue at the mention of the battlefield where he had suffered his greatest defeat. In the previous battles, Shougo's troops had always forced kaijori fighters to retreat. Not during the Battle of Winterfield. He could still taste the blood and mud in his mouth when he thought about his pathetic loss.

“One of the reasons”, Shougo muttered and grabbed the big ladle to pour hot water over his head. It burned his scalp and helped to forget the memories of Winterfield. His sight was blurry because of the water in his eyes, but he was a man of the islands. He could deal with a bit of water in his eyes, even if it burned.

“Listen”, Shuuzou said, his voice serious. “The war is over. If you face off against Ryouta Kise during the tourney, do not avenge Winterfield.”

“Even I'm not stupid enough to kill a guy in his own castle with hundreds of people watching”, Shougo grumbled. “What do you think I am, an idiot?”

“Honestly? I think 'idiot' is too weak a word to describe you.”

The crown prince ducked under the ladle hauled at him and just barely dodged his mate's punch.

Shuuzou felt a vein popping at his forehead. He was overtired, sore, irritated and stressed and his sweet husband decided to pick a fight with him in a bath that he had intedned to be relaxing.

He snapped forward, grabbed Shougo by his silver hair and dunked him underwater. Which might have not been his cleverest idea – Shougo had grown up on an island, he had learned to swim before he had learned to walk and he could hold his breath for a far longer time than Shuuzou. The younger man grabbed Shuuzo's ankles and yanked him from the seating plateau in the bath so that he was pulled underwater.

In his surprise, Shuuzou opened his mouth and a stream of bubbles escaped his lips. He quickly clamped his mouth shut again and could catch a glance at Shougo's wolfish grin before breaking through the surface, gasping for air.

Shougo was cackling when he came up and well and shook the water from his hair so that the drops hit Shuuzou right in the face. The Omega licked his thumb – a habit of his whenever something went the way he liked it, as Shuuzou had found out by now – and leant back against the wall of the pool.

“Crown Prince Shuuzou Nijimura”, he said mockingly and smirked. “Drowned by his mate in the bathtub because he tried to breathe underwater. Would make a good song. Imagine drunkards singing that in taverns. Yeah, definitely a good song.”

Shuuzou was still coughing to get the water out of his lungs, but that didn't stop him from sending a glare so vicious at his mate that the feared Pillager visibly flinched.

“Try that again, punk”, he growled. “And I'll beat you to a pulp.”

“And here I thought abusive Alphas were a myth”, Shougo snorted and climbed out of the tub. “Congrats, Nijimura, for proving me wrong.”

“Fuck you”, Shuuzou snarled.

His husband cackled.


	9. The Last Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! It's two chapters today! My birthday is the day after tomorrow (finally 18) so consider this my gift to you guys to celebrate with me <3

“Ryou-ji, Ryou-ji!”, a child's voice squawked and Ryouta turned around to see his nephew running towards him on his short, stubby legs. “Ryou-ji, wait!”

Ryouta laughed and picked the boy up, throwing him in the air. Mikoto shrieked in delight and giggled when he was caught again. Ryouta made a mental note to work out more – throwing his nephew up into the air had been easier when the boy had been a year younger.

“What's up, Mikoto?”, he asked and squished the boy's chubby cheek. Gods, he was _adorable_. “Did you run away from your mother again?”

Mikoto pouted. “I wanna come with you, Ryou-ji.”

“Is that so, huh?” Ryouta pinched his nose playfully. “So you wanna come with me greet Aominecchi and his gang, huh?”

Mikoto nodded enthusiastically and threw his stubby arms up. “Mine-san is so cool~!”

Ryouta wanted to weep in joy. He had raised the boy well. He definitely deserved an 'Uncle of the century'-award. “Right? Right~? Alright, let's g-”

“Kise!”

Mikoto clung to his uncle's shoulders when his father came walking towards them. “Chichi~”

Kouji Kobori was fairly tall, about Ryouta's own height, with slightly tan skin, warm brown eyes and hair of the same colour. Amongst Ryouta's squadron when he had still been in training in the army, Kobori had been the most normal one. Not like that was a great feat – the other members had included Yoshitaka Moriyama and Mitsuhiro Hayakawa.

“Kouji-san!~”, Ryouta called and shot his brother-in-law his widest grin. “I'm kidnapping your son!”

Kobori rolled his eyes. “Actually, he has a tutoring session now.”

Mikoto moaned unhappily. “So stuffy~”

Ryouta could only agree. He had hated tutoring sessions as well. Especially when the alternative had been practicing one-on-one with Aomine in the yard. Gods knew they had ditched often enough only to be hunted down by Nijimura's wrath.

“I'm gonna go ride to greet Aominecchi and his delegation!”, he announced and shifted Mikoto so that the boy was sitting on his hip. His arms had slowly started to tire. “They're already past Riverhold, so it's not too far!”

“Please, chichi!”, Mikoto begged and put on his best puppy look. Sayuri said that when he did that, he looked just like Ryouta when he had been a child. 

Kobori sighed and waved. “Alright. I'll tell your mother about it, Mikoto. And Kise... you better be careful.”

“Dont' worry, Kouji-san!”, Ryouta exclaimed gleefully and put Mikoto down. “We'll be back before sunset for sure! C'mon, Mikoto!”

Mikoto squealed in delight and began running, his uncle at his heels.

 

–

 

Taiyoko, Ryouta's thoroughbred sand-coloured mare, was saddled and readied for departure soon enough and Ryouta snuck her a carrot before climbing on her back. It was a bit after noon and to protect himself from the onslaught of heat that would soon come, the Golden Knight wore long, light clothes and a broad hat that had a veil attached to it. Mikoto and the three guards that would accompany them were clad in the same manner – the kaijori heat was just as cruel as the yoseni cold.

One of the guards lifted Mikoto up and Ryouta grabbed the boy by the waist to seat him in front of him in the saddle. “You ready, little man?”

Mikoto nodded enthusiastically and clutched the straps on the saddle to steady himself when Ryouta gently nudged Taiyoko's sides with his heels and the mare trotted forwards. The gates were pulled open and the small group left Goldhaven.

“Ryou-ji?”, Mikoto asked after a few minutes of riding. The castle was quickly becoming smaller and smaller behind them. “Is it true you're courting Mine-san?”

For a four year old, his nephew was scarily attentive. It was giving Ryouta the creeps. He laughed nervously. “Huh? What makes you think that, Mikoto?”

The boy stared at him out of the Kise family trademark golden eyes. “Nagisa-ba told me.”

Ryouta made a mental note to talk to the younger one of his sisters. Really, Mikoto was too innocent to know about courting and marriage and mating and everything that came with it!

“Uhm, actually, I am”, he said with a soft chuckle. “We've been courting for a while now... but it's a secret. People talk too much otherwise.”

“What is courting?”, Mikoto asked, golden eyes shining with curiosity behind his own veil.

Ryouta prayed that he wouldn't have to give his nephew The Talk. “Y'know, when two people really, really like each other and consider getting married sometime, they wanna get to know each other first, right? And they want to show that they're serious about it. So the higher dynamic, in my case Aominecchi, gives the lower dynamic, me, gifts. There are tons of rules about courting gifts. The first one is always flowers with special meanings. Then there's jewelry or weapons and clothes and exotic food and something handmade... but for nobles like us, the last courting gift is the most important, given shortly before the official engagement, it must include a combined sigil. Your mother's last courting gift was a golden barrette in form of a sun with a small castle lined with sapphires engraved in it.”

Mikoto frowned. “That's complicated. Am I a higher or lower dynamic?”

Ryouta ruffled the boy's brown locks under the hat and veil. “We don't know yet. But no matter if you present as an Alpha, Beta or Omega, you're still my munchkin!”

An offended shriek. “Ryou-ji, I'm already big! I'm not a munchkin~”

The Golden Knight laughed and squeezed his arms around his nephew before clicking his tongue and tightening his thighs to spur Taiyoko on. The mare gallopped up the hill and Mikoto gaped at the view that was stretching out in front of them. Bright and sparkling, the Goldsnake's stream wound through the valley, nourishing the land, making it bloom and grow.

“Y'know, legends say that this river was once a giant golden snake that terrorised the valley”, Ryouta told his nephew. “Many men and women failed to slay the beast, so a young pair of siblings, a brother and a sister, cast a spell on the snake and transformed it into a river. But the spell was so powerful that the siblings died from exhaustion – but the gods recognised their deed and reincarnated them in the giant willow trees at the waterfall.”

“Ryou-ji, there's no magic and that's just a river”, Mikoto pouted. “I'm not stupid~”

“Mou~ this was so much funnier when you still believed me!” Ryouta stuck out his bottom lip and nudged Taiyoko on. “When did you grow up?”

Mikoto grinned. “A looooong time ago!”

“Of course, little man~”, the blond cooed and stopped Taiyoko when he heard the rumbling of hooves and wheels on the ground and spotted a big group leaving the willow forest at the river. “Looks like they're here, Mikoto!”

He clicked his tongue and Taiyoko moved. The closer they got, the better he could recognise the banners the delegation was hoisting. The big black and red banner of the land of Touou, of course, the dark blue panther on black ground of Blue Peak, the pink rose upon a mint field of Rosevale, the golden warhammer upon a pale blue field of Highsummit. Ryouta felt a wide grin lighting up his face and he nudged Taiyoko into a gallop.

“Ryou-ji!”, Mikoto shrieked and pointed forwards. “I can see Mine-san!”

And Ryouta could, too. Daiki Aomine rode at the vanguard of the delegation on his black stallion with the very creative name Kuroh, his dark blue cloak billowing in the wind behind him. His mother, Lady Masuyo, was riding further back, talking to Kousuke Wakamatsu.

“Aominecchi!”, he called and Aomine looked around with a scowl on his face until he spotted the Golden Knight approaching him. Almost immediately, the scowl vanished and was replaced with a grin.

“Kise”, the Alpha called back and spurred his stallion on to shorten the distance between them. “I'm getting a 'Welcome' from Lord Kise's golden boy in person, heh?”

Ryouta pouted, but his eyes were still sparkling with glee. “You're a special guest, after all, Aominecchi!”

“Mine-san~!”, Mikoto squawked from his place in front of Ryouta. The four year old was grinning widely, showing off the perfect rows of white baby teeth. 

“Hey there, lil' man”, Aomine said and reached under the veil to pinch the boy's nose. “Did ya give your uncle a hard time?”

“Of course not!”, Ryouta said, pout growing. 

“Shame.”

“Aominecchi!”

Aomine let out a rare laugh and gave Ryouta a smile so fond it almost made the Golden Knight swoon. “It's good to see you, you dork.”

Ryouta smiled and reached over to squeeze Aomine's hand quickly. “I missed you too, Aominecchi.”

“Are you gonna kiss?”, Mikoto asked and grimaced. “Kissing is _gross._ ”

“What- Mikoto!”, Ryouta gasped and pulled the hat into his face to hide his flushing cheeks. “You can't just _say_ stuff like that.”

“Huh? Why not, Ryou-ji?”, the boy asked with wide, innocent eyes.

“Yeah, why not, Kise?”, Aomine asked, his eyes and grin far less innocent.

Ryouta whined pitifully and turned Taiyoko. “Aominecchi, don't taint him!”

Aomine snickered and dug his heels into Kuroh's flanks. “Who's first up on the hill!”

“What the- _Aominecchi!_ ”, Ryouta yelled and pressed his left leg into Taiyoko's side, sending the mare into a gallop as well. 

Of course, Aomine won. 

“So mean”, Ryouta pouted when he climbed off Taiyoko's back to give the horse some water. “You had a headstart and I have additional weight named Mikoto!”

“Sore loser”, Aomine said with a shrug and glanced around. Mikoto was chasing a mouse in the grass and the guards and Touou's delegation were still far enough to not see anything. Seizing his chance, the Alpha leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his court mate's lips.

Ryouta gasped in surprise, but recovered quickly enough and snaked his fingers into Aomine's short hair. His scent, like molten bitter chocolate and the air before a thunderstorm, filled his senses and the only thing he could think about was 'Gods, I really missed him'. 

“Ryou-ji, the mouse escaped!”

Ryouta shoved lightly at Aomine's shoulder, making the taller man break away and huff. “That little tot gotta be kidding...”

“Relax, Aominecchi”, he whispered and winked. “We'll have enough private time at Goldhaven!”

Now it was Aomine who flushed and gulped. 

 

–

 

They arrived at Goldhaven when the sun just begun to sink. Formalities were exchanged, the servants of the Touou delegation took care of the luggage with the castle's own servants, the guests were led to their chambers in Fuyue's Tower.

“Lady Aomine”, Lady Kise spoke up. “If my husband and I may have a word with you?”

Masuyo Aomine gave her son a curt nod. “I will see you at dinner.”

Ryouta looked after them with a scowl. “Politics this late at night? And without us?”

Aomine shrugged. “I don't know. Hey...” He cleared his throat and Ryouta cocked his head. “Could I talk to you... alone?”

“Uh, Aominecchi, we are alone.”

“No, I meant... like... private room?”

Ryouta's scowl deepened. “Sure... follow me.”

The Golden Knight led him up the stairs of Haruno's Holdfast, the massive centre tower of Goldhaven, to his own chambers. Among artful tapestry, ancient swords and halberds were hung on the walls. Elegant uniforms to choose from for the banquet were put up and his golden armour stood on its rack, glinting in the dim light. Ryouta sent the servants out and ordered the guards to not let anyone in before flopping on one of the blue divans in the centre of the vast living room. 

“Take a seat, Aominecchi.”

Aomine slowly sat on the divan opposite his court mate and fiddled with the small box in the pocket of his pants. “Uhm...”

Ryouta sat back up and leaned forward, one hand coming to rest on Aomine's knee. “Are you alright? You seem kind of... off, Aominecchi.”

'Now or never.'

Aomine pulled the tiny box of polished black wood out and thrust it towards Ryouta. “...take it.”

“Aominecchi, you're behaving really weird. What is this?”, Ryouta muttered and took the box, turning it in his hands. It was simple, no engraving, but the wood was very fine. 

The Alpha cleared his throat. “Just open it, will you?”

It came out harsher than intended and Ryouta's scowl deepened.

“Alright, calm down! No need to snap! Why're you smelling so weird anyway”, he growled and Aomine wanted to slap himself. Great. He rubbed the back of his head and willed his heartbeat to slow down and his scent to return to its normal note.

“Sorry”, he muttered. “Nervous. Open it. Please.”

Ryouta shot him one more weary look, but opened the lid of the small box. His jaw dropped. “Aominecchi, this is...?”

“Yeah.”

Ryouta stared at the golden brooch pillowed on black velvet. The brooch was incredibly fine craftmanship, a perfect golden sun with a dark sapphire panther's head in the centre. A combination of the golden sun of House Kise and the blue panther of House Aomine. A combination of their _sigils._ His head jerked back up and he stared at his court mate with wide, golden eyes. 

Aomine cleared his throat, fell to one knee in front of Ryouta and took his hand. Ryouta noted that they were both trembling. “Ryouta of House Kise, I hereby offer you my last courting gift and ask for your hand in marriage as my bond mate for eternity and beyond. So... Ryouta... will you marry me?”

Ryouta tried to fight the tears back, but he could still feel his eyes getting wet. 

“Stupid Aominecchi”, he whispered and brought Aomine's knuckles to his lips. “Of course. Of course I'll marry you, Daiki.”

Aomine let out a long exhale. “Oh, thank the gods. I spent a lot of money on that brooch, y'know.”

“Aominecchi. The moment. You're ruining it.”

“Right. Sorry.”

Ryouta let out a shaky laugh and wiped his tears away. “Come up here so that I can kiss you, you dork.”

“Gladly.”


	10. The Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally have a new router! Hopefully my Internet will be better and more stable now :)  
> Also, thank you so much for the lovely comments on the last chapter(s) <3 I really appreciated them, but I still feel obliged to point out again that this story centers around NijiHai. The other pairings I've tagged are _side-pairings_ and that also includes AoKise. Don't get me wrong, I love AoKise and MuraHimu and KagaKuro and MidoTaka and whatnot, but if you want a story revolving around them, this is not the right one. There will be chapters focussing on them, but the main plot is about NijiHai.

When Shougo woke up the next morning, he was hot. Not Heat-hot, but weather-hot. His mating cycle was not due yet, thankfully.

He groaned and kicked the sheets off. His light nightshirt was sticking to his chest and back with sweat. It was gross, really. Shougo sat up and peeled the shirt off without another thought. There was no way he'd be wearing that sticky gross shit one more second. Bad enough that he'd slept in it.

Kaijori climate was hot and humid, even in autumn, everyone knew that. They had had snow exactly once; the Cruel Winter during the reign of the “Ice King” Yuzuru Nijimura. Shougo wasn't particularly surprised about the heat, but he loathed it with all his heart. He preferred winds and rain over humid heat.

Shuuzou was curled up on his side of the bid bed, a sweaty film on his forehead and his face scrunched up. He wore his signature pout even while sleeping. He looked ridiculous.

Shougo considered shoving him out of bed, but forgot about it fairly quickly when Shuuzo said, voice muffled by the pillow and ridden with sleep: “If you even think about shoving me, I'll cut your cock off and make you eat it raw.”

“Woah, someone's grumpy”, Shougo muttered and climbed out of bed to peek through the curtains. It was still early, just a bit after dawn, but Goldhaven was already bustling. The tourney grounds were being prepared, the maids and servants hurried across the yards and the smiths were hammering away in their forges.

“'s it time to get up?”, Shuuzou slurred and sat up, blinking furiously to get the sleep out of his eyes.

“Nah”, Shougo replied and rolled his shoulders. “When's the Goldielady's birthday?”

“Tomorrow”, the older man mumbled and ruffled his tousled black hair. “Last guests will arrive today. And her name is-”

“-is Lady Sayuri of House Kise, future Lady of Goldhaven and Warden of Kaijo yadda yadda, you've only told me about half a million times”, Shougo cut him off and rang the bell that called the servants. “Move your royal ass, Nijimura.”

“I'll kill you, fucking punk.”

“With what? A pillow?”

“If need be.”

Shougo's valet, a Beta about five years or so older than him opened the doors to their chambers, Shuuzou's valet following him suit. Shougo had basically begged (threatened and raged) Shuuzou for this particular servant to be his valet since he had fukuda sogoian roots, pretty much the only one at the palace. Nobu, as his name was, had been born and raised in Crownwell, but he spoke a bit of the Old Tongue of Fukuda Sogo and knew Greyport Castle from his parents' tales.

Shuuzou had yelled at him, so Shougo went to ask his mother. Queen Hibiki treated him like a son ever since he was wed to her firstborn. A few days later, Nobu was his official valet, much to Shuuzou's disdain.

“Your Highnesses”, Shuuzou's valet, Kai, said and bowed. “Good morning.”

Shuuzou grumbled something incomprehensible and motioned for his valet. The man took a cup of water from the tabled the maid that had come with them had been carrying and placed it before the prince.

“Morning, Nobu”, Shougo greeted his valet with a half-smile.

“My lord”, Nobu said and bowed his head slightly while Shougo emptied a cup of water. “What do you wish to wear?”

“The lightest clothes I've packed.”

Nobu hummed and opened the heavy chest with Shougo's clothes. The Beta servant had light silver hair, common in Fukuda Sogo, and narrow brown eyes. He was quite lanky and about Shougo's height. “The red silk shirt, then?” 

“Whatever.”

Nobu chose a light, carmine silk shirt and pants of thin, black linen.

“Ser Daiki Aomine and his mother Lady Masuyo have arrived”, the valet reported while filling another cup while the knight changed into the new clothes. “Lady Satsuki Momoi of Rosevale and Ser Kousuke Wakamatsu of Highsummit are part of their delegation.”

Shougo hummed. House Midorima's party had arrived shortly after their own the day before and House Murasakibara would, as they said, only arrive tonight. They had to travel from the high north of Shield of Aegis to the very south of Goldhaven after all. “Is Tetsuya here?”

“Seirinese banners haven't been sighted as of yet.”

Shougo clicked his tongue and took the comb from Nobu's hands to tame his silver locks. “Kirisakish ones, then?”

Makoto Hanamiya was not all that bad. He was an asshole, sure, but Shougo liked his kind. And he got along with Kentarou Seto and Kazuya Hara, for example, better than with the Miracles.

“The Web and its bannermen have not been invited, my lord.”

'Fucking Kises', Shougo thought darkly and slipped his boots on. 'Tetsuya's not here yet and the fuckers didn't invite Fukuda Sogo or Kirisaki Daiichi. What the hell is this?'

“I'll go for a walk”, he announced and left the room before anyone could react.

When Shougo climbed down the seeminlgy endless staircase of Ryouko's Tower, he was unfortunate enough to stumble across things he wasn't meant to see.

Like Seijuurou Akashi, the future Lord of Emperor's Eye, Warden of Rakuzan, Protector of Lionbay, kissing his grey-haired guard.

Shougo cursed under his breath and hurriedly hid behind the next pillar. He had been wandering around and this was his punishment. Seeing the most feared warrior and strategist of Teiko, superior to even Daiki Aomine, smooching a bastard-born guard.

'Shit, shit, shit', he thought frantically and clamped a hand over his mouth to muffle his breaths. Seijuurou Akashi had been already scary when he was mere six years old and he had literally terrorised Shougo while they were fostered at court. The tales Shougo had heard of the heir of Emperor's Eye when he had returned to Rakuzan were impressive and cruel. It was him who had led the Meiko Massacre.

And now here the proud Alpha was, kissing Yashiro Kuroko's bastard, who used Null Drops to hide his scent, in the shadow of a staircase in Goldhaven.

Shougo heard steps on the stairs and caught a whiff of the approaching person's scent.

'Nijimura.'

Without thinking twice, he grabbed his mate's arm and yanked him behind the pillar.

Shuuzou opened his mouth to shout, but Shougo gesticulated wildly and pressed a finger to his lips before jerking a thumb over his shoulder in Akashi's general direction.

Shuuzou was still frowning, but he shut up and twisted his upper body so that he could see what was going on. It was comical to watch his eyes widen when he realised just who was making out in the shadows.

The prince leant back and mouthed: 'Mayuzumi?'

Shougo nodded and couldn't help but smirk. The Null Drops of the guardsman were wearing off and he could make out the faint, barely noticeable scent of an Omega.

'Omega?', he mouthed.

Shuuzou discreetly sniffed the air and nodded.

Suddenly, the kissing noises stopped and the two men hiding behind the pillar held their breath.

“Stop it”, a monotone voice said quietly. “Do not go any further than this.”

“Why?”, Akashi's smooth voice spoke. “Do you not enjoy it, Chihiro?”

“Don't be stupid”, Mayuzumi said, no emotion in his voice. “I don't want to end up taking Owari Tea again.”

Shougo's jaw fell. Owari Tea was brewed to induce miscarriages in the early weeks of pregnancy. He glanced at Shuuzou with disbelief in his eyes. If Mayuzumi had drank Owari Tea, that meant that Akashi had knocked him up and the Omega had to get rid of the bastard in his belly.

“You would have not needed Owari Tea if you had agreed to my marriage proposal”, Akashi said, his voice strangely soft.

'Marriage proposal?! Holy fuck!'

“Don't be ridiculous, Akashi”, Mayuzumi spat. “I don't want to have kids and I sure as hell don't plan on being a Lord of the Eye.”

A sigh. “Chihiro, if you talk to-”

“No, fuck off. I don't want to talk about legitimisation again. There's no way Father would agree. Now leave me alone, brat.”

Shougo pressed himself flat against the pillar and Shuuzo ducked to hide in the shadows when Ser Chihiro Mayuzumi, bastard of Shadowhall, marched by.

Silence. Shougo tried not to breathe.

A shuddering sigh from where Akashi stood, then steps. Silence again.

Shuuzou slowly rose and exhaled loudly.

“What the hell”, he muttered and jutted his upper lip out in his signature pout. “Akashi is crushing on Shadowhall's bastard?”

“Crush? He fucked him and knocked him up on accident. What's a crush about that?”, Shougo said with a sneer and stepped back from his husband, only now realising the close proximity they had been in.

“He proposed a fucking marriage to him, Shougo”, Shuuzou replied, irritation evident in his voice. “Akashi's not the type to do this. If he'd knock up a random fuck he didn't care about, the bearer would be dead before the child was born. To Mayuzumi, however, he proposed a goddamn marriage. He didn't want him to drink Owari Tea. He didn't only want Mayuzumi to become his mate, he also wanted that baby.”

The prince ran a hand through his hair and let out an incredulous laugh. “Fucking hells. Akashi _cares_ about the bastard.”

“Who cares about who the red-haired terror midget is crushing on”, Shougo snorted and made his way back to the staircase to continue his way down.

“Shougo-!”

“Also!” The knight whirled around, his grey eyes narrowed in anger. “Who the fuck gave you permission to call me by my given name, huh?! It pisses me off!”

Shuuzou scowled. “No one. We're married and mated. It's only natural.”

“I don't fucking care if I said some stupid vows in a church and wore your cloak and let you bite my nape, you don't get to call me 'Shougo' until I tell you to, which will be never, asshole”, Shougo spat and clenched his fists. 'I need to hit something. Or someone.'

“Fine”, Shuuzou snarled and pointed at his husband. “I'll call you by your surname in private, but deal with the damn fact that I'll _have to_ use your given name in public!”

“Great!”

“Yes!”

Someone cleared their throat on the stairs.

Shuuzou whirled around and barked: “What?!”

“I apologise for the intrusion, Nijimura-san”, a familiar, smooth voice spoke and the mated pair froze when they met the red and golden gaze of Seijuurou Akashi. 

“Akashi”, Shuuzou said and cleared his throat. “We didn't see you there.”

“Yes”, Akashi said and his dual-coloured eyes widened alongside his cold smile. “Neither of you expected me to show up on the stairs behind you after both of you assumed I had left for the lower storeys after my... encounter with Chihiro.”

Shougo's blood ran cold. 'He saw us. Shit. We're dead.'

He could see the glimmering ring in the redhead's retina, something it was said that he obtained after almost suffering a great defeat against Atsushi Murasakibara during a duel to determine the Northman's future allegiance – to himself or Akashi. 

“I understand that you stumbled by on accident”, Akashi continued, his smile fading and the ring in his retina shining. “Therefore I trust that you will not spread the tale. Anyone who acts against me is never forgiven. Even if they are my parents.”

Shuuzou frowned. “Are you threatening us?”

“Consider it more of a warning, Nijimura-san.”

The black-haired's man scowl deepened. “I am your future king. What right to do you have to threaten me?”

“True”, Akashi said and suddenly, his eyes widened even more, giving him a look of insanity. “And if Rakuzan's swords, steel, crops, cattle and the port of Lionbay will be as important to your reign as they are to your father's, I hope that you know how to keep a secret.”

The heir of Emperor's Eye bowed and strode downstairs without looking back.

Shougo chuckled as soon as the redhead was out of hearing distance. “You just totally got threatened by the weird-eyed midget of Rakuzan.”

“Shut up, punk”, Shuuzou snapped and clenched his fists. His expression was sinister.

“What, can't ya deal wi-”

“I SAID SHUT UP!”

Shougo sneered and stepped back. “Fuck, you're pathetic. Can't wait to unhorse you in the goddamn tourney.”

The prince of Teiko laughed, but it was cold and mirthless. “Unhorse me? Hah! You're a fucking islander, what do you know about jousting against a seasoned knight? No one will cheer for you. They will laugh and applaud when you fall face first into the dust. Don't get ahead of yourself, _Haizaki._ You have no friends here. All these people here want your head on a spike, you pillaged their towns and ships. The only thing that's keeping you safe is that bite on your nape. You might as well show some gratitude!”

“Gratitude”, Shougo spat and laughed bitterly. “I'd rather have my head on a spike than a mark on my neck! Now fuck off, Nijimura!”


	11. The Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! I hope you enjoy this chapter and I wanna thank tiramisu, Redacka and Neko0707 for your comments on the last one <3

“Presenting!”, the herald of Goldhaven called. “Lady Sayuri of House Kise, heiress of Goldhaven!”

Shougo stopped defiling his meat and glanced up as the guests started to cheer. As the prince's husband, he was seated with the royal party at the High Table – Yuudai Kise had been clever enough not to seat him next to his son Ryouta. Now he sat next to his dearly beloved husband his sister-in-law.

Lady Sayuri was a tall, beautiful Omega woman. Her golden curls reached her back and her catlike golden eyes were framed by long, black lashes. With full lips, a charming smile and a beautifully curved body, today accentuated by a rich red and green gown, she had been one of the most desired maids of Teiko. Now, though, she was married to Kouji of House Kobori, a son of a major house sworn to Goldhaven. Despite being an Omega, Lady Sayuri was first in line to inherit her father's lands and her younger twin sister Nagisa second. Ryouta, the only son, was only third in line. Kaijori laws granted lands, wealth and titles to the firstborn child, no matter their gender or dynamic.

“She's so pretty”, Mika sighed next to Shougo and twirled a stand of her straight black hair self-consciously. “Don't you think so too, Shougo-san?”

Shougo shrugged. While he had yelled at his mate to not call him by his given name, he had no problems with it if Mika used it. She was the least shitty out of his in-laws (she shared a rank with her mother Queen Hibiki, though) and she was the only one to trash-talk about some of the attending nobles which was pretty fun, admittedly.

“It's her surname that bothers me, not her looks”, he grumbled and wrinkled his nose when a very particular scent hit it. “Ugh. Someone's got a bun in the oven.”

Mika tapped her cheek. “That would be Lady Sayuri then. Your senses are quite sharp to smell it through her perfume. I only knew about it because she told me.”

“It wasn't _her_ scent. Her mate gave her away.”

Mika laughed and glanced at Kouji Kobori doting on his wife who waved him off with a fond smile and a roll of her eyes. “Yes... he is not quite subtle, is he?”

“Kaijori are anything but subtle. Fucking Goldies.”

“Haizaki!”, his husband hissed through clenched teeth next to him and Shougo barely resisted the urge to ram a fork into his hand.

“Ken!”, Mika suddenly whispered heatedly and grabbed her twin brother's shoulder. The urgency in her eyes betrayed her calm and peaceful smile. “There's Yukana-!”

Shougo, chewing on his steak, followed the princess' gaze until he spotted a young woman about Mika's age with bright silver eyes, an open laugh and black hair with a sharp widow's peak. She sat with Shutoku's party, next to Shintarou's birdie husband of House Takao or something. They were probably related as said husband looked pretty much like her.

“Hey, Mika. You're not betrothed yet?”, Shougo asked through a mouthful of food and while Mika shot him a slightly disapproving look, she replied.

“No. Not with the war. Mother is looking into possible partners. She suggested Ser Seijuurou Akashi and Lord Hikari Murasakibara.”

Shougo almost choked on his meat. Mika marrying the creepy small terror midget who was fucking his seirinese bastard guard? No way in hell. 

“I've been trying to convince her to propose a mateship with Yukana Takao”, Mika went on, her lips hid behind her hand. “She's an Alpha and the heir of Hawk's Eyrie ever since her brother married Ser Shintarou Midorima. I've known her for a while! She had often visited Greenhills while I was fostered there.”

The silver-haired knight frowned. “You were fostered at Greenhills?”

Mika blinked. “Yes? Didn't Shuu tell you? Ken was fostered at Shield of Aegis. It was the reason why you Miracles-”

“Mika”, Shuuzou said lowly. “Stop.”

“What's wrong, brother? Is something off?”

“Just. Don't talk about it. Alright? Please.”

Mika was scowling, clearly discontented with that order masked as a plea, but she turned back to her food.

Shougo glared at his husband, before shoving another fork of steak into his mouth.

The guests of the tourney held in honour of Lady Sayuri's 21st birthday were happily chattering and eating when the herald bowed next to Shougo.

“Your Highness”, he said quietly. “Lord Tetsuya of Shadowhall, of House Kuroko, and his son, Lord Takeru of Houses Kagami and Kuroko.”

Shougo found himself grinning like a madman when the herald stepped away to reveal Tetsuya with his baby boy in his arms.

“Tetsuya!”, he exclaimed and wiped his mouth. 

“Good evening, Haizaki-kun”,the pale blue-haired man said with a soft smile. The baby made a gurgling noise and wriggled in his bearer's arms. “It is good to see you again.”

Shougo wanted to lift his friend up and twirl him around. Gods, it was lonely up here at the High Table, at Goldhaven, without a friend. Mika was nice and all, but it was good to see Tetsuya's face.

“Yeah”, he said and then looked at the gurgling baby. Dark red hair, blue eyes and a slight tan to his skin. And thankfully normal eyebrows. The baby grinned at him. “...Takeru, was it?”

“Yes”, Tetsuya replied and his expression softened when his son clenched his small fists in his clothes. “It is weird to think he shall be Lord of Shadowhall one day.”

“You don't say”, Shougo huffed. He had seen Kagami boasting about his son a few hours prior to the feast. The boy was still a suckling babe, but that didn't stop his sire from praising the baby's future power and accomplishments. 

“Your child will be King or Queen of Teiko one day, Haizaki-kun.”

Nijimura choked on his food and started coughing.

“My apologies, Nijimura-san”, Tetsuya said dutifully and little Takeru laughed. Shougo might come to like the baby after all. 

Nijimura opened his mouth to say something when the herald stomped his staff and Tetsuya bowed quickly before hurrying back to his table. Shougo made a mental note to catch up with his friend later.

Lord Kise rose, clad in rich dark robes with a small smile on his lips. “Thank you, lords and ladies, for following our invitation to the tourney in honour of the birthday of my firstborn, my heiress – Sayuri.”

Cheers and applause.

“However, this shall not be the only reason for the tourney.”

Shougo stopped chewing and leaned forwards in confusion. What other shitty reason could there be? He noticed Ryouta shifting in his seat, trying (badly) to suppress a grin and narrowed his eyes.

'What the fuck is going on?'

Lord Kise was smiling at the crowd, his gaze lingering on Lady Masuyo Aomine, and then nodded at a servant. The man pulled a cord and a large banner depicting the dark-blue panther of House Aomine and the golden sun of House Kise upon a black field rolled open. 

“Goldhaven and Blue Peak shall henceforth be joined by the holy bonds of marriage between Daiki Aomine and Ryouta Kise!”

The uproar of cheers was almost as big as the one at Shougo's own wedding. Young lords, ladies and knights threw themselves at Daiki, who was laughing and – Shougo rubbed his eyes, not believing them – blushing.

A stream of nobles made their way up to the High Table to congratulate Ser Ryouta. The blond knight was beaming and laughing, shaking hands and kissing cheeks, just like the golden boy he was supposed to be.

Shougo swallowed his bite of food, wiped his hands and stood. Nijimura, who had just stopped applauding and grabbed the carafe of wine to refill his cup, glared at him.

“Where do you think you're going, hah?!”

“Congratulating the lucky Alpha”, Shougo growled and slapped his husband's hand away. “Don't touch me, fucker.”

With these words, he strode down the stairs leading to the High Table and made his way to the long table where Blue Peak's party was seated. Kagami and Daiki were bickering about bedding ceremonies, the red-haired Alpha's face rivaling the colour of his hair, when he arrived.

“Daiki~”, he drawled and the heir of Blue Peak turned around, his cheerful grin replaced by his usual scowl. “Congrats on your betrothal. You've been all over each other since you popped a knot, anyways. What did you do, knock him up so you two gotta get married on a whim to preserve your honour and shit? You didn't even court publicly, didn't ya?”

“Fuck off, Haizaki. It's not like that and you know it”, Daiki snarled and his eyes narrowed further.

“Hah? Is that a way to treat your prince?”, Shougo asked and smirked. At least that was what the whole marriage to Shuuzou Nijimura was good for. He finally ranked above the other Miracles. Even Akashi.

“Prince by marriage, not by blood”, the tanned knight replied coldly. “Don't think you can order me around just because you take a royal cock up the arse.”

Shougo's stomach clenched in anger. “What the fuck did you-”

“Aomine-kun, congratulations on your engagement”, a familiar, deadpan voice interrupted and Shougo, Daiki and Kagami jumped about five feet into the air when the Shadow of Seirin showed up in their middle without anyone noticing. “I have always believed that you and Kise-kun would make a marvelous pair ever since I caught you alone in the yard.”

“T-thanks, Tetsu”, Daiki sputtered, pupils still wide with shock. “Wait, the yard? When? What are you talking about?”

Tetsuya sighed and started telling about how he had caught Daiki and Ryouta training hand-to-hand combat with a bit too much lip-battling involved, while motioning behind his back for Shougo to leave.

“Coming back with your tails between your legs?”, Nijimura asked with an amused smirk.

The glare Shougo sent him was poison.

\---

Night had fallen already when the guests started to retreat to their chambers. Daiki and Ryouta were drunk and danced on top of the tables while hollering “The Princess' Silvers” alongside the remaining guests, a popular drunkard's song about Princess Shinobu Nijimura, the sister of King Yuzuru and King Kaito III, who had travelled from holdfast to holdfast, great and small, to find the young Omega knight she had danced with. Not for sentimental reasons, oh no, but because he had stolen her silver necklace while dancing and Princess Shinobu was adamant on getting it back by herself without another's help.

Shougo had been careful with his alcohol. With everyone singing and laughing, no one noticed him sneaking out of the hall. Not even Tetsuya. And not his beloved Lord Husband, who was busy joining the song, fairly tipsy himself.

Goldhaven was looming on the cliff of South Port, a booming trader's city. Rich spices, fabrics, wines, good steels and even more jewels were sold and bought here. 

And sellsails.

Kaijori ships were different from the ones Shougo was used to, but he was confident he could master sailing them. All he needed was a crew and he could hire one for gold. Since he married the prince, he never lacked for gold. The Haizakis of Greyport Castle were a fearsome House, but not a rich one. And if the kaijori captains refused to bring him home – well, he'd just hire an angelessan ship docking here. Or any other foreigh trader. Maybe he'd even find a sellsail from across the Vast Sea. 

The young knight slid into his chambers, giving his guards the excuse of being tired and changed out of his festive garments into a white tunic, black pants, the pair of boots he'd worn riding here. He didn't look poor, but he did look like someone who could afford to hire a sellsail without being suspected of theft and reported to South Port's city watch.

Unfortunately, their chambers were too high up in Ryouko's Tower to climb down – he would be spotted by guards in a matter of seconds. The white walls of the castle also didn't help. But the roofs were black and it would only take a minute of climbing, protected by shadow of the roof, to get on top of said roof.

Shougo burped and cursed the feast. He then threw a black cloak around his shoulders and pulled the hood up to hide his silver hair. His boots were luckily well-worn and finding the right places to put his feet shouldn't prove too difficult in them.

Shougo's small sack filled with thirty goldstars – which should be more than enough – jingled slightly whenever it thumphed against his thigh with his ascent from the balcony upwards. Growing up in the rocky environment of Greyport Castle, he had learned how to climb – rocks, walls, the few trees. His Alpha mother had told him that sailing and climbing were the pillars of Fukuda Sogo. If you failed at one of them, you weren't cut out for life on the islands. 

Still... Greyport Castle was old and had survived various attacks over the past centuries. The walls had been damaged and rebuild which made them easy to climb while Goldhaven was younger – Haruno Kise had build the castle only a bit over one hundred years ago. Its walls were still smooth and soon Shougo's fingers were aching and his arms cramping.

“Fuck”, he growled and pressed himself close to the wall when winds whipped against him with a force that threatened to throw him off. He could feel his nails cracking and warm, sticky blood dripping down his fingers. The winds were cruel and soon his arms and legs were trembling like leaves. His time in the palace had softened him.

Shougo's knees gave up beneath him when he finally pulled himself on top of the roof. With a muffled grunt, he fell forward and caught himself with his bloodied hands.

“Fucking hells”, he muttered and looked at the town of South Port beneath him, ships swaying at the docks. His stomach fluttered in hope. He could easily jump on the high walls on the other side of the tower and the unfortunate guard patrolling there would be knocked out before he could alert his colleagues. Then, he would slip through the servant's gate by bribing or threatening a maid or stableboy or something and he'd be out – easy enough. 

'I'm so close.'

Shougo crawled on the other side of the roof and jumped down, hissing when his knees and legs protested at the hard impact. Fortunately, there was no guard standing watch at the moment – this was getting easier and easier. Did the Kaijori have no sense of security?

Suddenly, an arrow shot just barely past his head.

Shougo leaped aside, his heartbeat racing, and stared up at the tower. Did one of the guards spot him and thought him to be a thief or assassin?

“Haizaki.”

The knight squinted and then laughed when a tall, green-haired man stepped out of the shadows of the tower.

“Woah, if it's not Shintarou~”, Shougo drawled and felt for his dagger. But Shintarou was carrying bow and arrow and he had no shield. And the 'carrot knight' never missed his shots. “Not in the mood for getting hammered and celebrating?”

“Are you trying to escape?”

Shougo laughed. “Are ya gonna shoot your prince's consort?”

“I would rather not, in fact”, Shintarou said and adjusted his glasses. “But as it turns out, you are also a traitor and a hostage. Law permits me to shoot you if need be, in fact.”

“'m just taking a walk. Got a problem with that?”

“With a sack of goldstars? Bloody fingers? Disguise? I beg to differ. You are trying to hire a sellsail at South Port and return to Greyport Castle, in fact.”

Shougo ground his teeth and bared his steel. Shintarou's eyes narrowed at the sight of the small blade.

“I told that arrogant fucker Daiki already, Shin-ta-rou~”, Shougo growled, drawling the Green Miracle's name. “If you wanna stop me, you gotta do it by force!”

“Men propose, gods dispose”, Shintarou solemnly recited his House's words and nocked an arrow. “You have always been inferior to us. The Grey Miracle? Don't make me laugh. Winterfield proved that. If you want to die, come here, in fact.”

Shougo growled and clutched his dagger tighter. “Ryouta beat me at Winterfield, but I'd rather die than be defeated by the 'carrot knight' at Goldhaven!”

Shintarou's scowl deepened and he lifted his bow. “What was that, in fact?”

“STOP!”

The two men whirled around and a group of kaijori guardsmen in steel armour and golden cloaks came running, spears and shields in hand. 

“In the name of your prince and the Lord of Goldhaven!”, the captain yelled and his men surrounded them, spears pointed dead at them. “Stop this madness!”

Shintarou lowered his bow, but Shougo spat on the ground, anger boiling hot inside of him. 

“Fuck off, all of you! I'll kill you all!”

“Your Highness!”, the captain called. “Lower your blade!”

“For every other word your filthy fucking mouth says, I'll stab one of your laymen, you know I can do it, don't ya?!”, Shougo roared.

The captain was smart enough to not say anything.

“Haizaki”, Shintarou said coldly. “Stop this, in fact. If you attack, you will be tried.”

“Then I got nothing to lose!”, he shouted and charged.

Suddenly, something heavy hit his head with force. His ears started ringing and black spots darkened his view.

Shougo collapsed before he could say another word.


	12. The Agreement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit earlier this week because I'm surprisingly busy the next few days. I actually have a social life, I'm so proud of myself. Anyway! Thanks for your support, y'all! I hope you guys enjoy :)

“Nijimura.”

Shuuzou forced his eyes open and groaned when his headache set in. Great. A hangover. Just what he needed. He blinked and rubbed his eyes until Midorima, who had obviously spoken to him, came into clear focus. “...Midorima.”

The Green Miracle looked as dead-serious as ever, but his green eyes were shining with more than the usual disdain and irritation. “I'm afraid that I have bad news.”

Hangover forgotten, Shuuzou jerked upright, his heart hammering in his chest. Gods, he didn't even dare to think about it. “My father-?”

Midorima shook his head. “No, it doesn't concern the king. Haizaki tried to escape a few hours ago.”

The relief that his father was alright was quickly overshadowed by his irritation. “He did what now.”

The heir of Greenhills elaborated Haizaki's escape attempt and Shuuzou's anger lessened with every word and was replaced with resignation. So Haizaki was so unhappy and desperate that he tried to escape like this? Despite everything, guilt gnawed at him. He had promised Lord Arata that he would take good care of Haizaki, but how could he live up to that promise? 

“Thanks, Midorima”, Shuuzou said and rubbed his temples. “He's receiving medical treatment for his injuries, isn't he?”

Before Midorima could respond, Kise waltzed in. Most of the guests had fallen asleep at the table, Shuuzou included, and looked exactly like that, but Kise didn't even appear to be hungover. His fiancé however, who followed him suit, looked quite grumpy and almost miserable. Shuuzou tried to ignore the ridiculously big amount of hickeys littering both men's necks and collarbones, but unfortunately, just the smallest glance reminded him of accidentally walking in on the couple heavily making out in an abandoned room while he was searching for a privy. What was it with catching his foster siblings in intimate situations here at Goldhaven? First Akashi, then Kise and Aomine and Shuuzou could swear that he had heard Tatsuya moaning Murasakibara's name in another allegedly abandoned room. 

“Nijimuracchi!”, Kise greeted enthusiastically, but somehow, his cheerful smile didn't quite reach his eyes. “I heard that Shougo-kun tried to escape?”

“Straight to the point”, Aomine mumbled and draped himself over Kise's back when the blond man sat down on one of the benches. “'s it true?”

“I would like to know the truth about this rumour as well.”

Aomine and Kise screeched at the top of their lungs when Kuroko turned up right next to them.

“Tetsu?!”  
“Kurokocchi?!”

Shuuzou glared at them, his headache steadily increasing – Aomine's and Kise's screeching didn't exactly contribute to his hangover-recovery. “You all are too noisy. Kuroko, wear a bell or something.”

The Shadow of Seirin shrugged. “I have heard that suggestion several times, but I'm afraid I must decline.”

“Decline what?” Kagami shuffled inside, yawning.

“Nijimura-san suggested that I wear a bell. I believe that you told me to do that as well, several times in the past.”

“Kinky”, Aomine muttered with a lazy grin and Kagami sputtered at the comment.

“What the- Ahomine, you _bastard!_ ”

“Ne~ what's all this noise about?~”, another voice drawled and Shuuzou didn't have to look to know that it was Atsushi Murasakibara. “Is it 'bout Zaki-chin?”

“I am interested in that as well. Nijimura-san, did you call a meeting concerning him?”, Akashi's smooth voice spoke up and Shuuzou just wanted to go back to sleep. Awesome. Somehow, all of his former foster siblings had found themselves in the hall around him and all of them wanted to know about Haizaki's escape attempt – as if he knew more about it than them! He had been here as well, celebrating and getting wasted, for fuck's sake!

“Listen, y'all”, he started and missed the good old days when they had been excited little six year olds that didn't talk back to their seniors. Not that it had lasted long. “I don't know anything more than you about H- Shougo's escape attempt, alright? And even if I did, I sure wouldn't tell you-”

“Mean!”, Kise cried out. “That story ruined my betrothal mood!”

“I don't think so, Kise-kun, if the amount of lovebites covering yours and Aomine-kun's necks is anything to go by”, Kuroko said dryly and Kise flushed bright red.

“Kurokocchi~”, he whined and squeaked when Aomine, still not completely sober, leaned down to kiss and bite at Kise's neck again. “Wah! Aominecchi, no! You pervert! Not here!”

“Burn my eyes, please”, Midorima grumbled and adjusted his glasses. “I prefer not to know about your love life, Aomine, Kise, in fact.”

“Yeah?”, Aomine drawled and smirked. “So Takao still hasn't gotten that giant stick up your ass out?”

“Don't bring Takao into this, Aomine!!”

Kise giggled. “But Takao-kun's very open about you two, too!”

Midorima blushed. “Whatever he told you, he's lying! He always makes things up when he's drunk!”

“Aww, Midorimacchi, no need to be so flustered! Takao-kun was only praising you!”

“Kise-!!” 

Shuuzou decided that this was his cue to leave and check on his husband. Murasakibara was busy with a bowl of sweets, Kise, Aomine, Midorima and Kagami were bickering, Kuroko watched them with a fond smile. Only Akashi spotted him leaving, but the redhead didn't say a word. Shuuzou made a mental note to thank him for that later. Maybe.

The way up to their chambers where Haizaki was, according to Midorima, was a bit more challenging than expected. Shuuzou's hangover made him feel queasy and nauseous and his knees were wobbling slightly. Climbing stairs like that proved to be rather difficult. Also, his headache was steadily getting worse. When he arrived, the guards stepped aside at once to let him in.

Shougo Haizaki was lying in their chambers on the bed, covered by light white sheets. A bandage was wrapped around his head – the guardsman who had jammed the foot of his spear against the knight's skull had used too much power. There had been bleeding for a worrying amount of time and the prince made another mental note to tell the guard that if his mate died, Shuuzou would have his head. House Kise's physician and the nurses who had helped him treat the prince's consort left as soon as they spotted Shuuzou, leaving him alone with the still unconscious Haizaki.

Only a few moments later, Haizaki stirred and moved slowly under the sheets, blinking sluggishly and gaze disoriented. 

“Good morning, punk”, Shuuzo said dryly.

The younger man was still shifting and blinking, but when he recognised his whereabouts and the man on the chair next to the bed, an ugly sneer returned to his face.

“What the fuck are you doing here?!”, he spat and winced. One hand flew to his bandaged skill and gently touched the wound. “And what in the five hells is this?!”

“These are my chambers as well as yours”, Shuuzou said. “And I believe this is a bandage.”

Haizaki sat upright and frowned at his bandaged fingers.

“Your nails were cracked and bleeding. Physician Yuuki tended to them.”

“Cracked nails don't need a fucking bandage. I look like Shintarou with his stupid mummified fingers”, Haizaki growled and flexed his fingers experimentally, the movement limited by the tight wrapping. “What kind of shitshow is this?!”

“No, what kind of shitshow did you pull last night, huh?!”, Shuuzou spat and leaned forwards. “Do you have any idea how much trouble your little escape caused?!”

“No, and I don't give a fuck!”

“This was an affront to Goldhaven's hospitality! You threatened the heir of Greenhills! You affronted Blue Peak as well by leaving its heir's betrothal festivities! And worst of all, you shamed House Nijimura!”, Shuuzou snarled. The guilt he had been feeling before was quickly fading in favour of irritation and anger once more.

Haizaki sneered. “House Nijimura? I don't give a shit about your precious house.”

“It's also your-”

“No, it's not!”, the silver-haired man spat. “I am a man of Greyport Castle, the son of Miku Haizaki! I'm not a fucking rainbow of Crownwell, I'm a shark of Fukuda Sogo! My damn surname is _Haizaki_ , should I spell it out for you, asshole?!”

Shuuzou took a deep breath and tried to ignore the veins pulsing at his forehead. Gods, he really regretted the alcohol last night. 

“You will not return to Kaito's Keep with me.”

Haizaki blinked owlishly. “What?”

The prince's upper lip jutted out in his signature pout. As a child, he had been nicknamed “Prince Pouty” by a lot of servants until his grandfather King Isamu II had taken action against the disrespect the palace's staff showed towards their future king. Even if he had been just three years old.

He had talked to his mother and uncle about sending Haizaki away, just a few days before their departure for Goldhaven. It was obvious that the knight hated the capital and the Keep and caused nothing but trouble among the nobles at court. It would be better for all parties involved if Haizaki was away from court even if Shuuzou was reluctant.

“My family has a castle up in the Narrow Mountains”, Shuuzou continued. “Masaru's Tower.”

Masaru Akashi had been King Hiroki's consort, Shuuzou's grandfather's father. King Consort Masaru had had a very frail mental health and a few years after Princess Sakura's birth, Shuuzou's great-aunt, he had gone completely mad. Hiroki, who had feared that this would happen, had built a castle up in the Narrow Mountains to contain his mate and his destructive attacks. Hiroki never stopped loving his mate, though – he had married him despite his psyche's constitution and against his aunt's will, Queen Misaki, the “Iron Queen” - and a few years after Masaru's imprisonment at the Tower, their third child, Norio, was born. Masaru killed him a few days after his birth during an attack and then threw himself off the tower in horror at what he had done to the babe. The commoners believed that the “Mad King” was still haunting the Tower searching for the son whose head he smashed in a fit of insanity.

Everyone knew the tale. And so did Haizaki.

“You're locking me away like a madman?!”, he growled. “Over my dead body, you fucker.”

“You complained about life at the capital, you should actually be happy, punk”, Shuuzou said. “I'll leave you alone at Masaru's Tower. You can invite Lord Tetsuya or other friends if you wish so. Not your family though. If you want to meet them, it'll have to be at the Keep. You will have everything you need, guards, servants, everything.”

“What do _you_ know about what I need?”, the younger man hissed. “I'll tell you, asshole. I need my damn home. I need the cold rains of Fukuda Sogo. I even need the stinky fish markets of Greyport! I don't need your fucking guards and servants and all the posh shit you offer me! I want to go _home._ ”

Shuuzou winced internally at the glimpse of desperation in Haizaki's eyes. His husband had climbed up Goldhaven's walls bleeding, he had been ready to face off against Shintarou Midorima and a squadron of armed kaijori guards for the slim chance of finding a captain to bribe or hiring a sellsail to bring him back to Greyport Castle.

“You don't get it”, he said heatedly and clenched his hands into fists. “I'm trying to make this a bit more bearable for you!”

“Bearable, my ass!”, Haizaki growled. “You're the asshole who forced me to marry you!”

“I DID NOT!”, Shuuzou roared and punched the bed to not hit his already injured mate square across the face. “I hate this as much as you do! Do you think I was alright with Shirogane-sensei telling me that I was to marry a traitor's heir because his brother couldn't be trusted? Don't go around playing the victim, punk, because I'm in the exact same situation! But here I am, married to you, in a mateship of hatred and shouting! And if you'd make a fucking effort to make this less shitty than it is, maybe it would be better for both of us!”

Haizaki grimaced, but he didn't say anything.

Silence.

“If you agree to try to make this... less bad”, Shuuzou said quietly, “then I could take you back to Crownwell. I already said I won't be doing anything. An amicable ground of mutual respect and acceptance is all I ask for. You'll have the rights of any prince consort.”

“Except seeing my family”, Haizaki muttered.

“You may see your brother and cousins whenever you wish so. That's only possible if you are at the Keep and it wasn't my idea – it was the one thing my father insisted on when they broke the news of my upcoming marriage to him”, Shuuzou corrected. “But your mother...”

“Yeah, yeah”, the other man mumbled and raised his hands. “The initiator of Arata's attack can't be trusted. I know the story.”

Shuuzou smiled wryly. “I'm sorry.”

Silence.

“So... what do you say?”

Haizaki rubbed his forehead. “I think I wanna go to Masaru's Tower. But not permanently.”

Shuuzou frowned. “What do you mean, not permanently?”

The younger man fidgeted slightly. “Well, uhm, for my heat.”

The prince fought down a blush and cleared his throat. “What, is that due already?”

His husband shrugged. “In two weeks or so.”

Shuuzou groaned inwardly. As if they didn't have enough troubles, mating cycles had to interfere. “I don't think you'll make it to Masaru's Tower in time, then. We can't leave the tourney early.”

“If I had a ship, I could”, Haizaki pointed out and hope glimmered in his eyes.

Shuuzou sighed. “I can't let you board a ship alone. One or two squadrons of guards, and my brother will have to come with you.”

The knight rolled his eyes. “What, you don't trust me, Nijimura?”

Shuuzou shot him a flat glare and his husband snickered.

“Alright”, the prince said with a tired sigh. “We'll leave after the tourney. I'll ask Lord Kise to organise a ship for us. And on second thought, I'll be travelling with you.”

Haizaki arched an eyebrow. “That so?”

“I have business in Seirin and the way through the Narrow Mountains is a shortcut. Also, you talk about yearning for the sea all the time. I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to push you into it.”

Haizaki actually laughed at that and it gave Shuuzou a weirdly satisfied feeling.

“I bet you're the type of guy who gets seasick. Especially with the autumn weather.”

Shuuzou gaped. “I'm not!”

“Yeah, you totally are.”

“I'm gonna push you into the sand at the tourney.”

“In your dreams, Nijimura.”

“Time to make my dreams reality, then.”


	13. The Tourney

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, I really hate this chapter. I wanted to edit it more and add some more scenes but I'm really tired and this update is already late, so bear with me, please... shout out to Annavict, Scorus, cake, sfhi, Neko0707, Redacka and Qikdaelun for commenting on the last chapter! You guys rock <3

Over one hundred knights had participated in the tourney of Goldhaven. Youngsters yearning for glory, seasoned men searching to prove themselves, Betas, Alphas, Omegas, they all fought against each other beneath Kaijo's ruthlessly burning sun on the heated, golden sands of the Goldhaven tourney grounds.

Shougo had unhorsed Ser Yukio Kasamatsu, Ser Yoshitaka Moriyama and about a dozen street knights. The joust had already been decided. The finalists were, as it was expected, the Miracles – Daiki Aomine, Ryouta Kise, Shintarou Midorima, Atsushi Murasakibara, Seijuurou Akashi, Taiga Kagami and Shougo himself, even though the public didn't count him to the Miracles. Nijimura had been eliminated by Seijuurou Akashi earlier on and therefore belonged to the men who lost in the semifinals, the so called Uncrowned Kings. Teppei Kiyoshi, Reo Mibuchi, Eikichi Nebuya and Tatsuya Himuro were among them.

But now, on the last day of the tourney, it was time for the swordfights. And according to the lists, Shougo was to fight against Atsushi Murasakibara, the “Hammer of Thor”. At 208cm, the Violet Miracle was the tallest participant and while he was most fearsome with his warhammer, his skill with the greatsword was just as formidable. In general, Murasakibara was not known for his warhammer and greatsword, though, but for his iron defence that lived up to the name of his homestead Shield of Aegis.

Nijimura's squire, whose name Shougo had already forgotten, fastened his armour, dark steel with the shark of House Haizaki engraved into the breastplate. It was so hot, Shougo felt like a lobster – boiled alive inside a metal pot.

“Ser”, the boy said and held his sword for this fight towards him. It was a tourney sword, blunt and ugly. Shougo missed his saber already. Hurricane was made of Coldsteel, one of the most expensive and rare metals of Teiko. Few swords were made of it and even fewer sabers. Each High House of Teiko owned exactly _one_ sword of Coldsteel and to each, it was the greatest treasure. Arata had inherited Hurricane from their Alpha mother, Miku, who had gotten it from her Alpha father, Shinya. Arata had given Hurricane to Shougo before he sailed against Crownwell and ever since then, it was in the Pillager's possession. 

Shougo grabbed the sheath and pulled the blunt blade out. It was shining dully in the merciless sunlight.

“I hope you won't disappoint me after all that big talk”, a voice sounded from his left and Shougo jolted.

“What the fuck, Nijimura”, he growled and glared at the black-haired man.

“Sorry”, Nijimura said with a cocky smirk. “Didn't know that the feared Pillager was such a scaredy-cat.”

“Fuck you”, Shougo muttered and turned to watch the current duel. Akashi was up against Kagami and it was clear that the heir of Emperor's Eye was winning. Taiga Kagami was an impressive warrior, even Daiki said so, but he was only a real threat to the Miracles when fighting alongside his mate Tetsuya.

While the taller man definitely packed more power, Akashi's sick ability to predict his opponent's next moves clearly outsmarted Kagami's strength. And despite their difference in height, both of them were strong Alphas.

Akashi dodged a mad swing of Kagami's longsword and whirled around. The clanking sound of steel meeting steel made the crowd scream in excitement.

Shougo did not miss Tetsuya's bastard brother standing at the sidelines of the fighting ground, watching only the rakuzani contestant's movements.

He grimaced. To someone who didn't know the true nature of Akashi's and Mayuzumi's relationship, it just looked like the guard was closely observing his future liege lord's fight. To him, who knew, it was just gross. He hoped the bastard wouldn't pop a boner watching Akashi's smooth movements.

With two quick slices of his sword and a quick cutback, Akashi made Kagami lose his balance and forced him on the ground by jamming his shield onto the other man's breastplate.

“Yield”, Kagami yelled when Akashi climbed on top of him, shoved his visor up and pointed the tip of his blunted tourney sword at the other man's eye. “I yield!”

The crowd erupted in cheers and the tourney master proclaimed Seijuurou Akashi the winner of this fight.

“Next up!”, the tourney master shouted over the crowd's slowly decreasing cheers. “Ser Atsushi Murasakibara, of Shield of Aegis, against Prince Shougo Haizaki, of Greyport Castle and Kaito's Keep!”

The audience started shouting and screaming again and Shougo strode onto the fighting grounds, blade bared. 

His opponent was a giant. Rumour had it that House Murasakibara descended from giants and everytime he looked at Atsushi, Shougo was tempted to believe them. His heavy armour made him look even bigger than he already was and his shield depicted the black hammer of his house on a violet field. He was lazy, but stronger and quicker than any of the others. Shougo hadn't forgotten that it was this very man who had almost defeated Akashi that one time.

Shougo adjusted his own shield and shut his visor. His heartbeat was thundering in his ears, in anxiety or excitement, Shougo couldn't tell. Atsushi twirled his blunt greatsword once, twice, then slammed his visor shut and moved into a defensive stance.

Lady Sayuri waved the red cloth and therefore declared the start of the fight.

Atsushi did not move first. He never did, knowing that his sheer height and weight gave him an advantage when he firmly stood his ground instead of charging. His greatsword, albeit a tourney sword and blunt like Shougo's, was glinting dangerously and suddenly, Shougo was glad that he hadn't met Atsushi Murasakibara on the battlefield during the war.

But this, this was a tourney. Fighting against someone stronger than him – Shougo was no fool, he wasn't better than Atsushi – granted him a rush of adrenaline and he didn't care that it was stupid to charge at Atsushi's iron defence. 

Shougo twirled his blade and felt a mad smirk splitting his face when he charged with a shout. Atsushi blocked his attack with his shield and swung his giant sword down, darkening Shougo's view by towering over him.

The silver-haired knight's teeth clacked painfully when he caught the powerful blow. His arms were almost numb when he whirled around and crossed blades with the yoseni giant.

“What's wrong, Atsushi?”, he drawled, even though it took almost all of his strength to withstand his opponent's power. “You've gotten slow~”

The other knight huffed and put more weight behind his push. The greatsword's blade was gradually pushing Shougo's own towards him. “What's that, Zaki-chin~?”

Shougo's shoulders started screaming in protest, so he brought his shield up, knocked the others arm away and dove under his next blow, a move he had stolen from one of the more important knights competing in the tourney.

Atsushi whirled around and suddenly Shougo found himself dodging blow after blow, unable to counter.

“What the hell are you doing!”, Nijimura's voice yelled from the sidelines. “Fight!”

Shougo _really_ wanted to punch him in the face. Nijimura had lost against Daiki during the swordfights, he hadn't faced off against the fucking “Hammer of Thor”.

He paried the next blow with his shield, heard the wood splinter from the force, jumped back and changed his stance from defensive to offensive.

“Hah~?”, Atsushi drawled and slowly walked towards him. “What are you doing~?”

“Beating your ass, you fucking tree trunk.”

Shougo charged, dove beneath one blow, dodged another, danced around the heavier and taller Atsushi until he finally broke through his iron defence. Being so close to his opponent, he landed blow after blow and Atsushi couldn't properly use his greatsword.

The crowd was shouting and screaming and Shougo was laughing, cackling in triumph.

Then, suddenly, the Yoseni's shield thundered against Shougo's breastplate, sending his ears ringing and his body staggering. His sword was knocked from his hands with one powerful blow, his legs swiped from underneath him and he found himself flat on his back on the hot sand, staring into angrily narrowed, violet eyes and the tip of a greatsword.

“Yield!”, Shougo roared. He could taste blood in his mouth and spat it out in disgust. “I yield, for fuck's sake! Get off me!”

“Ser Atsushi Murasakibara is the winner of this fight!”, the tourney master called and the crowd applauded and cheered.

Atsushi slowly got off him and Shougo could finally breathe deeply again.

“Y'know”, the Violet Miracle said when he removed his helmet, long purple strands falling freely onto his shoulders. “For someone who's all big talk, Zaki-chin was pretty easy to beat.”

Shougo jumped to his feet, staggering for a split second, eyes aflame with rage. “What the hell did you just say?!”

“Atsushi!”, a voice called and Shougo glanced over to see Tatsuya Himuro, the heir of Mirage Hall and Atsushi's husband, standing behind the timber scaffoldings. “Come on, don't fight now.”

The tall Alpha sheathed his greatsword and shuffled off the fighting grounds, turning to putty in his mate's hands.

Shougo was downright fuming and when guards tried to remove him from the grounds by force, he ripped himself free, punched one of them in the face and stomped off.

To no one's surprise, Seijuurou Akashi won the joust against Ryouta Kise, Shintarou Midorima won the archery contest and Daiki Aomine barely beat Atsushi Murasakibara in the swordfight. Tetsuya Kuroko was declared the winner of the knife-throwing even though it was hard to judge as his last opponent was no one but his equally talented half-brother Chihiro Mayuzumi.

Shougo, naturally, was not present to attend the awards ceremony.


	14. The Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience! :)  
> And a big hug to robo123, Neko0707, Redacka, tiramisu and Qikdaelun - you guys are awesome!

Shuuzou quickly realised that he would rather ride the oldest and boniest horse without a saddle than be aboard a ship during the famous autumn storms. Waves threw the ship around, the crew was hollering and the winds and rains had surely peeled multiple layers of skin off Shuuzou's face by now.

And amidst it all was Haizaki, looking happier than ever, joining in the barking of orders and general sailor's hollering. He had changed his princely garments in favour of roughspun linen and boiled leather and if not for his distinct silver hair, he could have been one of the crew. His dark shirt was soaked with water and stuck to his upper body in a way that would have mad Shuuzou look twice in interest if he hadn't been busy trying to keep the contents of his stomach down.

“Oi, Nijimura!”, Haizaki shouted and strode over, the moving ship apparently no problem for him. “Told ya you were gonna get seasick!”

“Shut it, punk”, Shuuzou growled and groaned in misery when another wave hit the ship and thoroughly shook it. “I didn't expect storms like these.”

Haizaki cackled and barked an order at a minor member of the crew. The voyage from South Port to Raintown took about a week and the storms had hit them after two days. They should have arrived yesterday, but the storms had delayed their trip.

Now that Haizaki was standing so close to him, Shuuzo could smeel the heightened pheromones announcing an oncoming heat and it send his Mating Mark pulsing and scent glands throbbing. He was suddenly glad that the Omega would be spending his heat at Masaru's Tower and not at the Keep.

“Raintown starboard!”, the man from the crow's nest yelled over the howling winds and Shuuzou could have wept in relief. Ken, who was on the ship as well, had spent the whole voyage retching over the railings and frankly, Shuuzou was proud to have made it without vomiting where Haizaki or any of the crew could possibly see it.

The crew started moving, the oars speeding up, the sails turning, the cox yanking at the wheel until the kaijori ship _Golden Knight_ \- needless to say, Haizaki had been beyond pissed to sail on a ship named after the man who had brought him his worst defeat – turned with a loud groan towards the fisher's town at the foot of the Narrow Mountains.

Lord Kise had sent a hawk in advance to the lord holding Raintown announcing the arrival of a royal ship. Therefore, a squadron of guards awaited them at the docks when the _Golden Knight_ dropped anchor in Raintown's small port.

“Your Highnesses!”, the captain of the squadron called. His banner depicted the sigil of House Kubota. “Welcome to Raintown. We are honoured to-”

“We won't stay long, good ser”, Shuuzou cut him off. He was really not in the mood for smalltalk. He was nauseous, miserable and irritated. “I trust you've arranged the necessary means for the trip into the mountains?”

The captain nodded, unfazed by the prince's impoliteness. “Yes, Your Highness. But would you like a change of clothes and warm ale? The storms have been troublesome.”

Unpertubed by the storm howling outside of the small port's house they were currently inside of, Haizaki laughed. “What are ya, a tavern patron? We'll have the ale and clothes at Masaru's Tower, why waste time at this fisher's town?”

Shuuzou was too worn-out to scold him for his lack of politeness.

“Shougo”, he said, the name feeling foreign on his tongue. “Let's change into dry clothes at least. I don't think catching a cold is what you want.”

Haizaki sneered, but not much later, they were clad in dry, warm clothes appropriate for the harsh cold up in the Narrow Mountains.

“These are way too hot”, Haizaki complained and tried to remove the fur coat.

“Even when you're nearing your heat, you should dress warm, punk”, Shuuzou muttered, quiet enough for only his mate to hear, and fastened the coat at Haizaki's neck, breath hitching when his knuckles brushed against warm skin. The Omega's crisp scent filled his nostrils and Shuuzou quickly stepped back to prevent the urge to burrow his nose at Haizaki's neck. Shit, he smelled good. 

“What are you, my mother?”, the Pillager snarled, slapped his hands away and climbed onto his dapple grey's back. “Get moving.”

Shuuzou sneered at him, but swung himself on top of Chouwa and gave the command for departure. They were a small group, the two of them and Shuuzou's brother, two squadrons of guards, a handful of servants, their valets, a physician, two Scentless – men and women who emitted no scent, who were completely unperturbed by dynamics and usually Unpresented themselves who were assigned to the care of Omegas in heat and Alphas in rut.

Shuuzou, Ken and the guards would stay for one to two days, to rest before they continued their journey to Shadowhall. Haizaki and the servants, the physician and the Scentless would remain for the duration of his heat under the pretext of examining the Tower, and then return to Kaito's Keep. By the time a hawk would reach Shuuzou to inform him of his mate's heat, the prince would be too far away to make it back on time, a perfect excuse for Haizaki to spend his mating cycle alone. 

When they set off for the Narrow Mountains, the rain hadn't stopped yet and for that, Shuuzou was grateful. The rain dulled Haizaki's ever growing scent and rid them of the problem of how to explain that a potent young Alpha like Shuuzou didn't smell his mate nearing his heat before leaving for Shadowhall.

The way up to Masaru's Tower would only take a couple of hours, although the rainfall would slow them down. Nevertheless, they didn't intend to take breaks along the way, they didn't have tents and supplies with them anyway. The Tower held anything they needed, it was not an abandoned castle after all. It had supplies, servants, a Hawk's Home, a major-domo to oversee things, builders.

The company riding up to the Tower had the hoods of their cloaks pulled up and most of them were busy cursing the gods for sending such a downfall if it wasn't even time for the next Godspour.

Not Haizaki.

“How come you like the rain?”, Shuuzou asked, admittedly curious, while wiping his face. “It's fucking gross.”

“I'll tell ya what's gross: the climate at fucking Kaijo and Crownwell”, Haizaki retorted and smirked at his husband. His hair was sticking to his face and was almost black from the water. “I've grown up with rain, stupid. 'S like asking the snowmen why they like snow so fucking much.”

“They're Yoseni, not snowmen, idiot”, Shuuzou said and clicked his tongue twice when Chouwa shied away from a mouse running over the stone path in front of them. “And for your information, they hate the snow.”

“Whatever”, Haizaki grumbled and the two of them fell into silence, disrupted only by the patter of rain. 

“Prince Shuuzou!”, one of the guards shouted from behind. “The rains are getting heavier! We should rest or the horses could break a leg!”

“This is not ice, they won't slip!”, Shuuzou called back, irritation evident in his voice. “I told every single one of you that we won't halt until we have reached the Tower! Do not request it again! Is that understood?”

The guard visibly ground his teeth. Poor guy was soaked to the bone. “Understood, Your Highness.”

None of the others asked to rest again and soon enough, the rains slowly let up and Masaru's Tower loomed over them. The Tower was made of massive, grey stone, with barely any windows and the few that existed had bars in front of them.

“How the hell did Masaru Akashi throw himself off?”, Haizaki asked, squinting to see through the light rainfall. 

Shuuzou's face darkened. When his grandfater King Isamu II had still been alive, talk about his bearer's suicide and the infanticide of his newborn son, Isamu's brother, had been absolutely forbidden. The name Masaru Akashi had become the epitome of the youngest tragedy of House Nijimura.

“He was so haggard that he had managed to squeeze through the bars”, Shuuzou said. “Best not to mention his name in the Tower. The folks who work here are pretty superstitious.”

One of the guards waved an oil torch to signal their arrival and the heavy oaken gate swung open to let them inside. The soaked party rode inside the yard of Masaru's Tower and immediately, stableboys came running. The whole staff was cramped in the small yard, watching in awe as their prince arrived. The last royal visit had been King Hiroki and his children, Isamu and Sakura, when a hawk had reached them that Masaru had given birth. When they had arrived, there hadn't been the consort and the newborn prince, but a shattered, haggard corpse and a dead babe with a smashed head. Afterwards, all royalty shunned the Tower, although rumour had it that young Norio had survived his father's mad attack, inherited his insanity and was locked away in the Tower with a half-dashed skull and his brain hanging out.

Nonsense, of course. Norio Nijimura's death had been final. Nothing could have saved him.

“Your Highnesses”, the major-domo, whose name Shuuzou had forgotten, greeted the royal party and the present staff bowed and curtsied before the nobles. Ken was more than disgruntled and stomped off as soon as a stableboy had taken the reins from him. His brother was angry at Shuuzou for not taking the captain up on his offer of staying for a short while. 

Well. Shuuzou could deal with Ken's pouting later.

“Are the rooms ready?”, Shuuzou asked while Chouwa was led into the stables to be dried off and fed. 

“Of course, my prince. I shall inform the maids to draw a hot bath at once. Please, follow me.”

Haizaki was clever enough to keep the heavy fur cloak on. The wet fur stank so badly, it masked his heightened pheromones completely.

The rooms were... modest, to be polite. Compared to their chambers at Goldhaven or Kaito's Keep, this was embarrassing. But then again, Masaru's Tower was not a real castle, after all, only a royal prison for the “Mad King”. There was barely any furniture, only one thick rug on the floor and the four poster bed had no curtains. There was a small window with wooden blinds and bars rather than curtains and the room was generally dark. 

“We had a beautiful tapestry, Your Highnesses”, the major-domo hurried to explain when she saw the disapproving expressions. “A gift from King Hiroki, may the Itsukami bless his soul, to his late husband. Unfortunately, it was ah, a bit... well, ragged from... from its owner's attacks. We removed it.”

Shuuzou chose not to comment on the woman's stuttering. The bed was piled with blankets and furs and that was what would be most important for Haizaki's heat, not some ragged tapestry.

“It will do”, he said instead. “Thank you. You may leave.”

The major-domo bowed. “Very well, Your Highnesses. The servants shall inform you when the bath is drawn.”

Then she left.

Haizaki let out a long breath and shed the stinking fur cloak. “Fucking hells, this thing's stench made me _blind_ , holy fuck.”

“Unfortunately it didn't make _me_ blind, so I wouldn't have to see your ugly mug again”, Shuuzou muttered and breathed through his mouth to avoid Haizaki's scent.

“What the- asshole! What was that about an amicable relationship of mutual respect and shit, you fucker?!”

Shuuzou jutted his upper lip out to mask his grin. “I'm just stating the truth.”

Haizaki charged at him, but Shuuzou quickly dodged the punch and tripped him up so that the Pillager fell face first onto the floor.

“You're such a fucking bastard”, Haizaki growled when he got to his feet, hands a bit scraped from where he had caught his fall. “Why would anyone want to see you on the throne?!”

Shuuzou grinned and couldn't resist but ruffle his mate's hair, even though it was wet and absolutely not fluffy like usual. “It's not a thing of _want_ , but of _birth_ , dumbass. Are you really a noble?”

Haizaki sneered, but the tips of his ears were red. “Fuck you.”

At that moment, someone knocked from the door to the adjacent room.

“Your Highnesses”, a timid man's voice called. “The bath is drawn. May we leave?”

“Yes, of course”, Shuuzo said and they heard a door open and close. “I'm bathing first.”

“Hah?!”, Haizaki called. “No way! Why should I let you?!”

“I don't want you to stink up the water with your pheromones. I don't wanna smell like you, idiot”, Shuuzou scoffed.

Haizaki shot him a challenging look and suddenly started ripping off his clothes.

Shuuzou gaped, spun around and tried his best to fight down the blush. “What are you- OI!”

The knight threw one of his boots at the back of his head and nearly fell over while pulling his pants off, hobbling into the adjacent room on one leg.

“This silver-haired, conceited, bratty fucker”, Shuuzou swore and ran after his mate only to get hit by a second boot. “Haizaki!!”

He yanked the door to the bath open, that Haizaki had slammed shut just seconds before, and ground his teeth when he saw that the brat had actually managed to get into the bath before him.

“I'm gonna kill you.”

Haizaki gave him a smug smirk. “You'd be too slow for even that, Ni~ji~mu~ra~”

“Hah?! And what are you doing, defiling my name like that, huh?”

“Don't you like it, Ni~ji~mu~ra~?”

“You fucking brat. Haizaki!”

The guy had the guts to actually blow him a kiss before sinking deeper into the tub.

“Fine”, Shuuzou growled. “Have it your way, punk.”

Haizaki's eyes grew wide when Shuuzou started stripping.

“O-oi! What do you think you're _doing?!_ Stop! Ugh, now I'll have to blind myself! The tub's too small for two people! That's not a kaijori pool, for fuck's sake! No, no, NO! Don't pull the undergarm- OH GODS.”

The silver-haired man hid his face behind his hands, the tips of his ears bright red, and pulled his knees up to his chest. Shuuzou smirked and climbed into the tub. It was indeed a bit small for two people and his legs tangled with Haizaki's, but teasing the younger man with nudity was just way too funny. He hadn't known that Shougo Haizaki could be cute, but right now, right here, he most definitely was.

“Nijimura, fuck off”, Haizaki muttered, hands still in front of his face.

“Not gonna happen. I told you I was gonna bathe first”, Shuuzou replied, unable to stop smirking.

“...please.”

“Being fake-polite won't change anything, Haizaki.”

“Nijimura, I'm fucking serious, alright?” Grey eyes stared at him, shining with urgency, through Haizaki's fingers. “Pleas- _ah._ ”

Shuuzou froze. Did Haizaki just _whimper?_ All of a sudden, the other man's scent hit him with full force and he had to gasp and only ended up inhaling more of that intoxicating scent.

The knight curled into himself, getting as much distance as possible between himself and Shuuzou. “You wanna set my heat off early by coming so close? Get out.”

Shuuzou blinked at Haizaki's curled up form and noticed that his scent glands were swollen and that his skin was flushed with warmth that was not just coming from the bath. Being in close proximity with a bonded mate mere days before heat or rut was bound to start could possibly trigger the cycle into hitting earlier.

Fucking hells. Shuuzou had completely forgotten about that. He felt his own Mating Mark starting to throb and a well-known rush of warmth into his groin. 

“Shit”, he cursed and climbed out so quickly that water sloshed over the rim. “Fuck, I'm sorry, I didn't- I'm gonna go.”

Haizaki shuddered, uttered a curse and pressed further against the side of the tub while Shuuzou hurried to pick up his clothes.

The prince slammed the door shut behind him and took a deep breath. That had been dangerous, too dangerous to their arrangement of a platonic marriage.

He took another shaky breath and ran a hand across his face. He had messily put his pants and tunic on and they were still wet from the ride up here. He was shivering from the cold, wet clothes on his heated skin from the bath.

Suddenly, the familiar strong, crisp scent hit him again, filled with heavy pheromones. Shuuzou's nostrils flared and he knew that if he looked in the mirror, his pupils would be so dilated the blue of his irides would be barely visible. 

He swallowed the possessive growl rising in his throat, clamped a hand above his nose and mouth and stumbled to pick up Haizaki's clothes that were strewn across the room and threw them carelessly into the burning fireplace.

It was all happening to quickly. Shuuzou hadn't expected to react this strongly to Haizaki being in pre-heat. 

'Seems like I gotta leave earlier than planned.'


	15. The Heat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you have your smut, my fellow thirsty fujoshis~ ;)  
> Also, I'm, like, over the moon because of all the positive feedback this story is getting? I mean?? I started it at night in my bed with an almost empty pen and an ancient notebook??  
> So thank you to Neko0707, robo123, Redacka, Qikdaelun, hella_fujoshi, 2whitewolfalpha6 and Natto26 for commenting! I love you guys! <3

Nijimura left on the morrow with a squadron of guards and a handful of servants, just when Shougo felt the restlessness announcing his heat seeping into his bones.

Despite everything, he was grateful that Nijimura had been considerate of the situation and chose to leave as soon as possible. Only a day after the prince's departure, Shougo started nesting. As clandestinely as he could, he didn't want someone to notice so soon and send a hawk to Nijimura actually on time for him to come back.

It was an embarrassingly omegan thing to do, arranging furs and blankets and duvets and pillows to a weird pile of softness where he would spend the coming week cramping, hurting, sweating and yeah, who was he even kidding, jerking off.

Once, he had tried to suppress the nesting instinct and failed. He had grown so restless and distressed that his heat had been even more of a horror than usual. After two days, he had given up and spent the last five days burrowed in blankets and furs. So even though Shougo hated nesting, he didn't plan to make this obnoxious week even more disgusting.

According to common belief, an Omega spent the entirety of their heat squirming and moaning with their fingers buried inside themselves, yearning and calling for an Alpha to satisfy their primitive needs.

Bullshit.

An Omega was hit by two to three waves a day that lasted about an hour each. Only during these waves were they the wantons common belief shaped them to be, but even then how clear the Omega's mind stayed depended on the individual. These waves where when arousal drove them more or less crazy, but after the hour, their overheating bodies cooled down again and tried to regenerate while their abdomen cramped and hurt. Most of them had clear minds throughout most of their heats, but of course, that wasn't what people – especially arrogant and conceited Alphas – wanted to hear. No, to them, all Omegas in heats were greedy sluts.

Fuckers. Literally.

Shougo was cuddled up into his nest on the bed in Masaru's Tower. He had been nesting for about three days now, the furs and blankets piled high around him and he had wrapped himself in sheets. His skin was already flushed and he could feel the uncomfortable tightness in his abdomen announcing the horrible cramps that would soon come. If he was reading his body's signs right, the first wave should hit him soon.

“My lord, do you need anything?”

Shougo looked up from inside his nest. Nobu had brought a tablet with three carafes of water and dried fruits and other aliments that would deliver a lot of energy in a short amount of time. It would probably be the last time he'd see his valet for this week – once his heat hit, the Scentless would take care of him.

“No”, he grumbled and slid deeper into his cocoon of blankets. It was bad enough that someone saw him like this. Weak. Submissive.

“Major-domo Rina has sent a hawk to your royal husband”, Nobu continued while filling a cup with water. “I'm afraid he won't be able to return on time, though.”

Shougo smiled grimly. 'He better won't. If the rainbow prince marches in here before the week's over, I'll rip his throat out. With my teeth.'

“Should I send the physician to bring a pain-relieving potion for when the cramps start?”, Nobu asked, ever the loyal servant.

Shougo thought about it for a moment. He had never taken such a potion before, on the islands it was still customary for Alphas and Omegas to suffer through the cramps their mating cycles brought in order to heighten their threshold of pain.

“No”, he said eventually. Crownwell had made him go soft already, he wouldn't take the soothing, dulling potions as well. Even though it was tempting to spend a heat without groaning in pain at least once. “I don't need them. Leave.”

Nobu bowed and did as he was told.

Shougo waited until his steps had vanished, then he scrambled to sit upright and pulled the small pile of clothes from under his pillow, smoothing the crumpled note attached to it with a small needle. 

_Burn them if you don't need them -S._

“Affectionate bastard”, Shougo muttered and ripped the note off to throw it into the fireplace. If someone were to find it, they would know that Nijimura had been well aware of Shougo nearing his heat and had left nevertheless which would only serve to provoke unnecessary rumours.

He was wearing only his undergarments by now, any other clothing felt too itchy on his heated skin, and despite the cool temperature in the room outside of his nest, he didn't get goosebumps. Still, being out of his nest made him feel restless again, so he quickly crawled back into the piles of furs and blankets as soon as the paper had burnt.

Shougo pressed the clothes Nijimura had left for him to his face and shuddered involuntarily at the Alpha's scent sticking to it, the cool, fresh air after a night of rain on the meadows. The tight knot in his abdomen suddenly loosened and Shougo moaned into the fabric when the first wave hit him.

He quickly shimmied out of his undergarments and winced when the fabric rubbed against his over-sensitive member.

“Shit”, he growled and a whimper tore itself from his mouth when he felt slick starting to drip onto his thighs. Gods, he hated it, he hated his mating cycle.

His body turned hotter and hotter with every heartbeat, sweat started beading on his skin and Shougo was so hard by now that it was painful. He whimpered pathetically and wrapped around himself, shuddering and almost crying in relief, and started stroking.

'Not enough, not enough!', his body screamed at him and Shougo stifled his moan in a pillow while his hand sped up. Sensitive as he was, it only took a few sharp tugs and his thumb on his leaking tip for him to come for the first time today with a long, drawn-out moan. Coming so fast at the beginning of his heat always made him feel like a pre-presented kid experimenting with that thing between their legs. 

“Damn”, Shougo groaned and wiped his hand on the sheets, feeling dizzy from the orgasm. He was still hard and soaking the sheets beneath him with slick.

'I'm not gonna touch there until the second day at least.'

He shivered when his Mating Mark started pulsing, a persistent and uncomfortable throb at his nape.

“Nijimura, you bastard”, he whispered hoarsely and moaned when the heat inside of him increased once more. His arousal was bordering on painful and his body screamed at him to call out for his mate, to be held, to be filled. Could it be that a heat spent alone if one was mated was worse than usual? 

“No, no, no”, Shougo said and wrapped his fingers his hard member once more, squeezing slightly just for the right amount of pleasure, sliding his hand up and down with that twist of his wrist that usually made him see stars. His hips bucked up into the tight canal his fingers created, but it didn't feel right. He felt like something – no, _someone_ \- significant was lacking. The scent from Nijimura's clothes was making him lightheaded and he subconsciously turned his head towards them, inhaling deeply. “This has to be enough, this has to be enough, for fuck's sake, not until the second day-!”

But his cock only throbbed in his hand, no matter how he twisted his wrist, which good spots he touched, he just balanced on the edge, never quite falling over. Shougo felt like crying, it was frustrating in the worst way.

'Fill me, fill me, knot me, knot me', his body seemed to chant, slick dripping down his thighs that were glistening wetly on his skin in the dim light of the room. 

Shougo whined when he finally - _finally!_ \- came, white streaks of come covering his muscled stomach. His chest heaved with his snapping breaths and Shougo trembled when he sucked in a deep breath into his aching lungs. He ran his clean hand over his face and looked down, disgusted.

Fuck, he was filthy, his stomach streaked with come and sweat, his thighs sticky with slick.

With a grimace, Shougo leaned over to grab a cup of water, when a jolt of pleasure ripped through him again, reigniting his heat and sending his Mating Mark throbbing painfully.

He moaned embarrassingly loudly and fell back into his nest. He was panting and his mind was fogging over with the sheer urge to _get satisfaction_. His hand moved on his own behind himself, feeling the slick preparing him for something that would not come.

Shougo bit his lip so hard he drew blood to stifle his cry of relief when he pushed the first finger in, loose enough due to the heat that there was no resistance.

'More, more, more!', his instincts howled and he complied, adding a second finger without feeling a burn.

“Nijimura”, he croaked weakly and rocked back against his fingers that crooked just the right way, making him see stars. He shuddered and thrust his fingers against the same spot again, whimpering his mate's name.

'Where is he? Where is my mate?'

“Shuuzou”, he whined and added a third finger, relishing in the stretch of it, but it wasn't enough, he needed his mate, he needed him. He needed that scent surrounding him, that warmth holding him, that heat inside him.

He gasped breathlessly. “Shuuzou-!”

What would the Alpha do to him if he were here? Would he flip Shougo over and ruthlessly fuck into him until he was mewling? Or would he be slow, tantalisingly so, and tease him until he was near tears and begging?

Shougo keened at the thought and pushed his fingers against that magic spot inside of him once more.

Would he cover his skin with bites and kisses, leave marks? Would he talk to Shougo, tell him how well he was doing, or would he not? Would he take him from behind or want to look at him? Would he press his legs apart as far as they would go and almost drive Shougo up the headboard with the ferocity of his thrusts? Would he rub his quivering thighs? Would he take him in his mouth to make him shout in pleasure?

Would he _knot_ him?

Shougo's hips jumped at the thought of his mate locking them together, filling him up and with a long, drawn-out groan, he came hard with Shuuzou's name on his lips.

 

–

 

“My lord, do you need-”

“Piss off.”

“A change of sheets, maybe?”

“Don't come anywhere near my fucking nest.”

“Perhaps a bath?”

“Just took one. Piss off!”

“Then, pain-relieving poti-”

“GET OUT ALREADY!”

The Scentless jumped in surprise and fear and wasted no time in running out of her lord's chambers.

As soon as the door slammed shut, Shougo crawled out of his cocoon of blankets. There would be no more waves for the remainder of his heat, only the cramps. Gods, these were giving Shougo hell. When one of the Scentless had come in earlier that day, he hadn't even been able to move because the pain in his abdomen and lower back literally petrified him from the waist down.

“Shit”, he panted when he slowly heaved himself onto his own two feet. Despite what he had told the Scentless Woman, he was in desperate need of a bath, but there was no way he'd let anyone see him like this if his brain wasn't fogged up with lust or delirious with pain. Slowly and bent, Shougo made his way into the adjacent room. The tub was still filled with water and when he stuck a finger in it, it was at least still lukewarm.

Shougo carefully climbed into the tub and lowered himself into the water, wincing everytime his abdomen contracted.

“Fucking heats”, he muttered and breathed out in silent relief when he was completely settled into the tub. He was absolutely filthy, sticky with dried sweat, come and slick. His hair was sticking to his forehead and his eyes were sore from crying. Shougo had never cried during a heat before, but the cramps between the waves had been so bad this time around, he had felt like someone had jammed a thousand knives into his lower back and stomach and twisted them around. He probably spent half of the six days of his heat up to now crying. How pathetic.

Shougo grabbed the cloth on the little table next to the tub and started scrubbing. Especially his thighs were bad, smeared with slick and come. It was fucking gross. He scrubbed them until the skin was red and itching, then he slowly moved to his knees and reached behind him to clean himself there.

Shougo winced, he was still painfully sensitive and sore, but he wanted all the traces of this disgusting week off him.

A week he had spent masturbating to his husband who he didn't even like. Respect and maybe silently admire a bit? Perhaps. But not _like_. Nope. Right?

No matter how vigorous Shougo scrubbed his body, the disgust he felt towards himself for crying Nijimura's name like a wanton with three fingers up his ass, would not go away.

“Whatever”, he muttered to no one but himself while rinsing his slightly greasy hair. “That's probably normal, right? It was my first mated heat and I spent it alone. Instincts and shit wanted the mate's knot, not me, for fuck's sake. That was the heat talking. I'd never want fucking Nijimura to help me out with my cycle.”

Even though the thought of lessening the cramps and the agony of the waves was tempting. Everyone knew that a shared heat was incredibly pleasurable. But he could take a potion for the cramps if there was no other way and the waves were hard, but manageable. He wouldn't depend on Nijimura of all people to get through them, for fuck's sake. Literally.

Suddenly, his abdomen contracted so sharply and strongly that Shougo had to bite down on his fist to suppress a scream. He doubled over in the tub, clutching his stomach as if that could relieve the agony somehow.

And all of a sudden, as quick as it had come, it stopped.

The knots in his abdomed loosened, his muscles relaxed and Shougo felt his body cooling down until he was shivering in the actually cold tub water. 

He could have wept in joy.

It was over. He had made it through this torturous week.


	16. Shadowhall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've gotten to over 2000 hits which is more than I have ever expected?! Thank you guys! And special thanks go to my bros Redacka, imjustapieceofcake, Qikdaelun, Neko0707, robo123 and Ai and August 19 :)

Shadowhall was a well hidden castle. Build inside a vast forest of sakura trees that were protected by old magic so they couldn't be burned, its walls were covered by hedges and ivy – it took a Seirinese to find the way to the ancient seat of House Kuroko. Shadowhall had been found by an enemy's troops exactly once, centuries ago by the reigning Lord Aomine of Blue Peak and Warden of Touou.

But above all, it was Tetsuya's home and inheritance. A castle where the Crown Prince of Teiko and the heir of Emperor's Eye were currently arguing.

About his half-brother.

“Akashi, I told you already, I'm in no position to legitimate him!”

“Nijimura-san, you are king in all but title.”

“Yes, and that damn title is what's important here!”

“Your father wouldn't refuse you. Or me, for that matter.”

“I see, so now you know my father better than I do, is that how it is, Akashi?”

“I did not say that.”

Nijimura was annoyed, Tetsuya could see that much. The future king had arrived yesterday and would only stay for about four days before continuing his voyage back to Crownwell, north of Seirin. Rakuzan, Seirin and the crown had matters of trade to discuss and, apparently, the matter of Chihiro Mayuzumi, Lord Kuroko's son born out of wedlock.

“My father would definitely refuse because it's going against _your_ father's wishes”, Nijimura growled and rose to tower over the redhead, well aware of the fact that Seijuurou Akashi hated being looked down upon. “And apart from that, Lord Kuroko has to agree which I know for a fact that he doesn't.”

Tetsuya was sitting next to Akashi, quietly observing the discussion. His father, Yashiro Kuroko, should come to join the meeting anytime soon, but until that happened the only two men whom the Miracles followed without putting up much of a fuss would continue their less than friendly banter.

“I would not be the first man to marry and mate against his parent's wishes”, Akashi said resolutely, dual-coloured eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth tilted downwards in a slight frown. “However, I would not stand against my father's wishes if Chihiro were to be legitimated. He would then be a man of House Kuroko, a son of a High Lord of Teiko, a suitable match for the heir of the Eye.”

“From what I know, Mayuzumi doesn't want to be legitimated as well! Now stop it, Akashi. I didn't come here to discuss your _love life._ ”

Akashi's frown deepened, but he did not act up against the authority of the man all the Miracles – himself and Haizaki included – respected and obeyed.

Obviously, Tetsuya knew about Akashi's and Mayuzumi's relationship. Because really, how couldn't he have noticed? He had grown up with Seijuurou Akashi at Kaito's Keep, lived with him for six years. He knew the heir of the Eye well and his whole fighting style was based on a detailed eye of observation. He would have made a terrible Shadow of Seirin if he hadn't picked up on the slightly lingering glances the couple gave each other or the way how Mayuzumi moved around Akashi with more familiarity than a guard would usually do. He highly doubted anyone else could have noticed. Kise's observation talent might rival Tetsuya's, but the Golden Knight lacked the patience Tetsuya had. So he didn't know. And up until now, Tetsuya had thought that he was the only one who knew. Apparently, he was wrong.

“Nijimura-san”, Tetsuya spoke up and the black-haired man jolted in his seat.

“Damn it, Kuroko! Don't just show up out of nowhere!”

Tetsuya blinked. “I have been here the whole time, Your Highness.”

“Then wear that bell I suggested or something. And don't call me that, you're my foster brother, for the gods' sake”, Nijimura said with a sigh and jutted his upper lip out. Tetsuya sighed at the repeated suggestion. “Kuroko, when will your father-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Tetsuya and Akashi rose and bowed slightly. Nijimura turned to see Yashiro Kuroko, Warden of Seirin and Lord of Shadowhall striding in.

Tetsuya had inherited his lack of presence from his father. Yashiro Kuroko was a man of average height with black hair and the shockingly pale blue eyes his son had got as well. His expression and voice were as deadpan as Tetsuya's, the very contrary to his bubbly wife, Hinata Soragawa, a distant relative of Katashi Aomine, with her bright smile and pale blue hair.

“Prince Shuuzou, Ser Seijuurou, Tetsuya”, the Lord of Shadowhall gretted and sat at the head of the long table. “Please excuse my tardiness. Have you begun without me?”

“No, Mylord”, Akashi said, his mouth still set in a firm frown and the glinting in his red eyes gave him a remotely stubborn expression. “Before we begin, may I ask something?”

Nijimura shot him a dark, warning glare, but Akashi did not pay attention to him. 

Tetsuya's father blinked. “Why, of course, Ser Seijuurou.”

“It's about your natural son, Chihiro Mayuzumi, who is in my service. How come you have not acknowledged him?”, Akashi asked, ignorant of Nijimura's angry hiss.

Yashiro Kuroko's blue eyes widened a fraction, but otherwise his face remained stoic. “Chihiro is very much acknowledged. I recognised him as my natural son when I heard of his birth which occurred before my marriage to my lady wife. As to why he is not legitimated, the reason is quite simple: upon his legitimation, Chihiro would be heir to Shadowhall as he is older than Tetsuya. Chihiro may be my own kin, but I do not wish to see him rule Seirin.”

“If he would renounce all claims, though...”, Tetsuya thought out loud, earning himself an evil glare from Nijimura as well.

“Then why legitimate him?”, his father asked. “Marriage? Few lord or ladies would agree to marry a bastard, legitimated or not.”

“Some would”, Akashi insisted.

“What for? A marriage would serve his lucky husband or wife nothing but bonds to House Kuroko. There would be no claim to Shadowhall, no significant inheritance. Mayhaps support in times of war, but the war is over, Ser Seijuurou, we live in times of peace.”

“For love, Mylord?”

Yashiro Kuroko let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “I pity the poor soul who falls in love with the bitter man my son has become. I'm afraid that Chihiro will never be able to committ himself to someone for eternity and beyond.”

Akashi's expression did not waver once, but his eyes glinted dangerously. “With all due respect, Mylord-”

“That will be enough, Akashi”, Nijimura interrupted in a tone that demanded obedience. “Let us move on to important matters.”

 

–

 

“Oi. What's wrong?”

Tetsuya looked up from his book - “Tales and sagas of the Great Knights of Teiko” - and blinked at his mate owlishly. “Excuse me?”

Taiga set on the bed with an empty cup of wine on the nightstand and twirled his favourite dagger in his left hand. “Something's wrong. Are you gonna tell me what?”

“Nothing, Taiga-kun.”

Taiga huffed. “Don't gimme that. What are you brooding about? I'm not stupid, I can see you are.”

“...”

“Silence?!” Taiga put his dagger aside. “C'mon, Tetsuya.”

Tetsuya sighed and placed a bookmark between the pages of his book before turning towards his husband. “It's about Mayuzumi-san. Akashi-kun and Nijimura-san fought before today's meeting about his status as an illegitimate son.”

“Your half-brother?” Taiga frowned and scratched his cheek. “Isn't he Akashi's guard or something?”

“Yes, for about six years now”, Tetsuya said. His half-brother had been only fourteen when Akashi, who had just returned from Kaito's Keep aged twelve, had discovered his talent on his way back to the Eye and had him moved to House Akashi's seat to train him personally. “Mayuzumi-san's illegitimate status is a complicated matter between him and Father. Mayuzumi-san never openly asked for legitimation, but it was obvious that he wished for it.”

Taiga hummed and then rose from the bed to flop into the armchair opposite Tetsuya's. “So, what do you think about it? Legitimating him.”

Tetsuya smiled softly. “It's not my place to decide that, Taiga-kun. Father and His Majesty the King have to decide on that.”

“I know that, idiot”, Taiga said with a scoff. “I'm not asking you to make a decision or stuff, I wanna know your opinion.”

“My opinion?”

“Yeah. I don't really care what the king or your father say, it's your opinion that matters to me, y'know.”

Tetsuya pulled his knees to his chest and rested his chin on top of them, thinking. As a child, he had often wished for a sibling, but his mother had lost all the babies she had birthed after him. Then, King Takeshi had offered to have a child of each of the High Lords fostered at court to give his oldest son company. And all of a sudden, he had had six brothers, a sister and a somehow-cousin (because he found no other term to describe Haizaki's role). He had only learned of Mayuzumi's existence when Seirin had marched against Rakuzan during the war.

“I am not sure, to be honest”, he said eventually, frowning. “I do not want to give Shadowhall to Mayuzumi-san, brother or not, it is _my_ home and _my_ inheritance. On the other hand, however, I know that legitimation and open acknowledgement is what Mayuzumi-san wishes most for. It's complicated to come to a conclusion.”

“Why's Akashi so interested in legitimating the guy, anyway?”, Taiga grumbled. “He's just his guard, not his fiancé or court mate or shit.”

'If only you knew, Taiga-kun', Tetsuya thought. 'They've been clandestine court mates for two years already.'

“Who knows what Akashi-kun's ulterior motives are?”, Tetsuya said and winced internally at the blatant lie. He could not tell Taiga about Akashi's and Mayuzumi's relationship – his husband wouldn't be able to keep that secret and Akashi had already threatened Tetsuya, one of his oldest and best friends, if he were to spill it. He didn't dare to imagine what the heir of the Eye would do to Taiga Kagami.

“Probably bloody murder, fucking psycho that he is”, Taiga muttered, stood and stretched. “I'm gonna check on Takeru. You should go to sleep soon, it's not good to stay up too late.”

“Taiga-kun, your motherly side is showing. I suggest you birth our next child.”

“What the- Tetsuya!!” Taiga flushed bright red. “W-wait, next child?!”

“Of course. Taiga-kun didn't think we were done after Takeru, did he?”

“Don't speak of me in the third person! And what if I thought so, huh?”

“That would be very confusing and paradox as I remember how you said during your last rut that you would fill me up w-”

“TETSUYA!”, Taiga yelped and hid his beet red face behind his hands. “Don't repeat what I said in my rut! It's embarrassing as fuck!”

Tetsuya chuckled. “You are so easily flustered, Taiga-kun.”

“And you're a little shit! How can anyone think you're innocent and pure? Sheesh.”

The smaller man blinked up at him with wide and innocent blue eyes. “Are you saying I'm neither? You wound me, Taiga-kun.”

“Suck it up”, Taiga muttered, face still pink. “I'll be right back.”


	17. The Other One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 17th chapter on the 17th October 2017... damn XD  
> For those of you who don't know yet, I've been on vacation to London the past four days and I haven't checked ao3 due to poor internet and... well, London, my fave city XD so please excuse the late update!  
> Shout out to my fanfic-bros imjustapieceofcake, Redacke, Qikdaelun, Nekoshi, Ai_and_August_19 and our newest squad member HollyWoodFix! You guys rock! :)

“Are you feeling better now?”

There was no answer. The grey-haired man simply slid off the bed and began the search for his pants among the clothes strewn across the floor.

The other man sighed deeply. “Did I hurt you?”

“You didn't.”

“Then, may I ask what's wrong? The symptoms have worn off, as far as I can tell.”

The Omega gritted his teeth and clicked his tongue. “Yeah, thanks for helping. See you.”

“Wait.”

He pulled up his pants and shook out his rumpled tunic. “What is it, huh? There's nothing left to say. I need to get the damn Moon Potion, so make it quick. We shouldn't have done this anyway.”

The Alpha on the bed frowned. “Do you regret it?”

“Well, _you_ should.”

“I asked about you, though.”

“What does it matter?” A bitter laugh. “You're heir of the Eye, Akashi. You probably shouldn't fuck your lowborn guard.”

 

–

 

_(A few hours prior)_

Emperor's Eye was a giant fortress of massive red brick, standing high and proud on top of Daishin's Hill, watching the city at the foot of its throne.

“The young lord is returning!”, the major-domo of the Eye hollered when the horn of the watchtower was blown twice, announcing the future lord's return. “Open the gates for Seijuurou Akashi! Fetch his guards! Where are the stableboys? The servants? Move or Lord Masaomi will hear about it!”

Chihiro leaned against one of the pillars at the gate to the halls of the Eye. The vast yard was filled with staff scrambling to prepare everything for the young Akashi's return which was earlier than they had anticipated.

He hadn't been able to travel with Akashi. Well, more like he really couldn't be bothered to. Shadowhall should have been his home, but his bearer hadn't been Yashiro Kuroko's consort and therefore Chihiro was nothing more than a bastard with no claim to his ancestors' seat. He would not enter Shadowhall as a bastard.

Akashi had insisted that he accompanied him, to talk to Lord Kuroko about legitimation, but Chihiro had brusquely refused. He had his pride and he would not crawl before his sire begging for acknowledgement.

The heavy gates were pulled open and the staff hurried aside when the white mare of the young lord trotted into the yard, followed by the rest of the delegation that had left alongside the heir of the Eye.

Chihiro's lips twisted into a bitter smirk when he looked at Seijuurou Akashi on Yukimaru's back, his magenta bangs still clipped short and his mismatched eyes observing the crowd until they found him, leaning against the pillar.

A small smile tugged at Akashi's lips and to be frank, it gave Chihiro the creeps. It was also kind of nice, though. But mostly creepy, like everything about Akashi in general. The heir of the Eye pulled off his riding gloves, told the stableboy holding the reins something while staring a hole into the poor boy's skull and swung off Yukimaru's back.

'Shit, he's not coming for me, is he', Chihiro thought and took a step back, just in case. Akashi waved a servant towards him, gave him a short order and then sent the man off.

Towards Chihiro.

'What a brat', the grey-haired man thought darkly. 'Too proud to openly talk to me so he sends a servant? Pathetic.'

“Ser Chihiro.” The servant had reached him and Chihiro gave him a bored, deadpan expression. “M'lord wishes to speak to you as soon as possible. He also tells you to annull all appointments.”

Chihiro froze internally at the code _annull all appointments_ the two of them had set up. “Fine.”

Then he turned on his heel and strode inside the castle without sparing Akashi or his messenger another glance.

 

–

 

It turned out that Akashi's senses were as sharp as ever. He had smelled, felt or how the fuck he always did it Chihiro's heat approaching before he himself noticed. 

Like he said: creepy

They had established that _annull all appointments_ would be their code for an oncoming cycle, Chihiro couldn't even remember when they had decided on that stupid phrase. It certainly was useful, though. By taking Null Drops, Chihiro's scent and primal instincts were dulled and his dynamic thus successfully hidden. They didn't suppress his mating cycle, though, only shortened it and lessened the symptoms.

Chihiro gritted his teeth while rummaging through the small chest of his belongings, searching for the pouch of Widow's Leaf, a herb that actually suppressed a heat. Because there was no way he'd crawl into Akashi's bed just to have the Alpha knot him once or twice and therefore end his stupid cycle.

It was a pathetic and disgraceful arrangement, one which he did not intend to go back to now. No, he would take the Widow's Leaf and be done with it. No sex with Akashi this time.

His skin was slightly flushed and he was just warm enough to be bothered by his armour and cloak which he had shed as soon as he had entered his room.

Finally he spotted the small pouch at the very bottom of the chest and yanked it out, opening it with slightly shaking fingers.

It was empty. There was nothing but dried crumbs left. He had forgotten to restock on Widow's Leaf after suppressing his last cycle.

Chihiro growled and hauled the pouch at the wall. There was no way to suppress his cycle now. This was admittedly the worst thing that could have happened to him, but he'd just suffer through it alone, it would be over after one or two waves, he didn't need Akashi's help. Never had. Compared to what most Omegas had to go through, his dulled heats were a walk in the park.

But it had been a while since he had actually had one. And it was common knowledge that the first heat after a row of suppressed cycles was bad. Very bad.

It didn't matter; Chihiro had made up his mind. He would not require Akashi's help this time.

His legs were still trembling a bit, but he still managed to march over to the door and lock it. Just when he turned the key, someone knocked.

“Mayuzumi-san”, a smooth, surprisingly warm voice spoke through the wood of the door. “Let me in.”

'So it's this Akashi today?', Chihiro thought darkly. 'When did he switch? I'm pretty sure his eyes were red and golden when he arrived, not monochromic like any fucking normal person's.'

Akashi spoke again, more urgently this time. “Mayuzumi-san, I know you're in there. Let me in, please.”

'Please?!' Chihiro could have laughed out loud.

“I'll let you know that I have the keys to your room. You have the choice between letting me enter or having me enter your room.”

Chihiro growled internally. For a fucking eighteen year old, Seijuurou Akashi was way too manipulating. He turned the key in the other direction and opened the door a bit.

“What do you want?”, he said, his voice as deadpan as usual. He was sure that the slight flush on his cheeks betrayed his condition, though. “I'm kinda not available.”

Akashi's slitted pupils dilated when Chihiro's faint, usually suppressed scent hit him. “You're out of Widow's Leaf. Let me help.”

“Fuck no”, Chihiro snarled and tried to shut the door, but Akashi got a foot in. “Akashi, I really don't want your help this time.”

After the last time, he had ended up with a bastard in his belly after all, that he had gotten rid of before even telling Akashi about it.

“I don't wish to have you suffering, Mayuzumi-san”, Akashi said and fuck, he smelled good. Chihiro was so screwed. “If you really don't want my help, suit yourself. If you do not wish to suffer through this alone, you know the way.”

Akashi stepped back and Chihiro wasted no time in slamming the door shut.

Fuck.

 

–

 

The Eye was full of secret passages and staircases. No one really knew about all of them, even Seijuurou Akashi didn't – Eiko, the daughter of the first Lord of the Eye and builder of the castle, Daishin Akashi, had continued the building after her father's murder. In her paranoia of being killed as well, she had the builders killed off and new ones hired, again and again, until the Eye was nothing short of a mace.

Well, Chihiro knew one of the passageways. It led from his room into – not directly, but it wasn't too difficult to get there – Akashi's chambers.

He didn't want to go. He really didn't, but some part of him yearned for the younger man's embrace. And well, for his knot. Who was he even kidding.

Chihiro slipped through the last door in the darkness of the walls of the Eye and immediately felt a pair of red eyes resting on him when he stepped into the light.

“Mayuzumi-san.” Akashi sounded pleased and absolutely not surprised. It pissed Chihiro off. “You came. I'm glad.”

Chihiro clicked his tongue and stalked past Akashi to the bed. “Get on with it.”

A sigh. “Don't you wish to go slow, Mayuzumi-san?”

“Do I fucking look like I wanna go slow?”, Chihiro asked in his deadpan voice and pulled off his boots and tunic. “I don't have time for your eternal foreplay. I don't even know why you insist on it, for fuck's sake. Literally.”

Akashi's red eyes were sad when he stepped closer and stopped Chihiro's hands from unlacing the breeches. The Omega slapped him away. 

“I thought that was fairly obvious, Mayuzumi-san”, he said and looked Chihiro deep in the eyes, making him feel exposed. “I want to cherish you in every way possible.”

Chihiro internally laughed bitterly, but that didn't stop the tingling warmth spreading inside his chest at the Alpha's words. “Do what you want, but get me off.”

Akashi cupped his face and when Chihiro didn't jerk his head away, the younger man pressed a soft, chaste kiss to his lips.

'Shit', Chihiro thought and brought his hands up to grasp Akashi's wrist, to keep his hands were they were, and chased after him with his lips when the Alpha pulled away.

Akashi hummed and Chihiro bit on his bottom lip when he felt the brat smiling. His tongue asked for entrance and Akashi welcomed him. Chihiro didn't know how and when Akashi had become such a good kisser. When they had started this arrangement, Akashi had already been good, but now he just knew what to do to make Chihiro gasp and shiver.

Deciding that the redhead was definitely wearing too many layers, Chihiro unbuttoned Akashi's vest and pulled off his tunic, only breaking the kiss to pull the annoying cloth over Akashi's head.

“You're quite eager”, Akashi murmured and dove back in.

“I'm in heat”, Chihiro deadpanned and crawled back on the bed until he hit the headboard when Akashi gave him a nudge.

Akashi chuckled and fuck, Chihiro was weak for that damn chuckle. “I can smell that.”

“You're awfully restrained for that fact, Akashi.”

The redhead hummed and pressed a kiss to Chihiro's nape, right where his scent glands were, making him shudder and let out a soft sigh. “I told you, Mayuzumi-san. I want to cherish you.”

Chihiro bit his lip. It felt good to hear these words, they gave him a pathetic little bit of hope. Hope that Akashi really meant it, that he wasn't playing him like a shogi piece the way he had during the war.

“Whatever”, he muttered and grabbed the Alpha's crotch firmly. Akashi gasped and his fingers flew to Chihiro's hair and pulled, eliciting a small grunt from the Omega. His voice wasn't completely steady anymore when he went on: “I'm starting to get literally hot and bothered so you better get your dick inside me right now before I'm getting miserable.”

Akashi sighed. “One day I'm going to make love to you the way I want, nice and slow.”

Chihiro fought down his blush with a cough. “Your other self might disagree.”

“Well, he's not here right now.” Akashi's red eyes were shining.

With deft fingers, the Red Miracle unlaced Chihiro's breeches and pulled them and his underwear off, tossing them somewhere in the room. The Omega hissed when air hit his sensitive member and he could feel his body heating up at the proximity of the Alpha. 

“Wait”, he panted and pushed Akashi back who had just begun to kiss down his stomach. “Wait a second, Akashi! Did you lock the door?”

Akashi sighed once more. “Of course I did, Mayuzumi-san.”

Chihiro frowned. “Huh, when? You didn't know that I would come.”

The younger man smiled. “There was no way you wouldn't come.”

He felt a vein popping up at his forehead. “You fucking brat.”

Akashi chuckled and Chihiro moaned in surprise and pleasure when a hand wrapped around his throbbing member and a finger slipped inside of him. “You were saying, Mayuzumi-san?”

“Brat”, Chihiro groaned and clutched the redhead's biceps. “You're a fucking - _ah_ \- brat, Akashi-!”

The other's name ended in a sharp yelp when Akashi slid a second finger inside and pushed them against the Omega's sweet spot with deadly precision.

Akashi smiled at him and Chihiro would have slapped him across the face if the guy didn't currently have a hand around his dick and fingers in his ass that he just know how to crook and twist to make Chihiro moan.

Akashi prepared him quickly, the Omega's muscles loosening faster than usual and the slick easing the way due to his heat.

“Get on with it”, Chihiro growled when the Alpha got off the bed to shimmy out of pants and undergarments torturously slowly. Even naked, erect and slightly flushed, Akashi managed to still look somehow regal.

“Patience, Mayuzumi-san.”

Chihiro glared at him. His mind was slightly hazy from the heat and he was way too close to mewling for his liking so he rather kept his mouth shut. For now.

Akashi climbed back on the bed, naked as a newborn, and crawled over Chihiro, fixing him with his deep red eyes.

“How do you want it, Mayuzumi-san?”, he asked, his voice smooth and almost a whisper. Chihiro gulped and licked his lips.

“I don't care”, he said, desperately trying to keep his voice as monotone as possible. “I want it now.”

Akashi chuckled again and suddenly, a mouth slammed into his, a tongue demanded entrance and damn, Chihiro granted it. The redhead's fingers found their way back to Chihiro's cock and started stroking, making the Omega moan into the kiss.

“Imagine how this would be if you didn't use Null Drops”, Akashi whispered between kisses and Chihiro bucked his hips into Akashi's fist at the thought. The Alpha leaned down and nibbled at his scent glands, making Chihiro gasp weakly. “Imagine how this would be if we were _mates._ ”

Chihiro's eyes flew open in panic. If Akashi would bite him- “Akashi, don't-!”

The redhead caressed his sides and crooned quitely. “Calm down. I won't claim you without your explicit consent.”

Chihiro felt himself relax again and laid back when Akashi hoisted one of his legs up on his shoulder and pressed a soft kiss to his calf.

“Well, are you gonna get inside me anytime soon?”, he asked dryly when Akashi just continued pressing kisses on his thigh. 

Akashi shot him a disapproving look, lined himself up and pushed inside with one firm thrust. Chihiro's back arched off the bed and he tried to suppress – really – the shout, but a pair of lips on his muffled the sound. Gods, he felt so full all of a sudden, he had to gasp for breath. Calloused hands smoothed over his quivering thighs and twitching abdominal muscles and a velvety voice asked: “Are you alright?”

Chihiro sucked in a much needed breath and then squeezed around the cock inside of him, making Akashi let out a rare, unexpected moan. He grinned smugly and did it again. “Move.”

Akashi gripped his leg tighter, pushed a pillow under Chihiro's hips and pulled almost completely out, leaving Chihiro empty and gaping, before sliding home again.

Chihiro whined, the heat in his body rising. Fuck, Akashi was good at this. How the Alpha managed to hit so close to his prostate without actually touching it on purpose was driving Chihiro crazy and he couldn't help but rock his hips back, trying to get the right angle.

“What the hell are you doing?”, Chihiro panted and shifted. It came out more desperate than he had intended. His own untouched dick throbbed painfully on his stomach because Akashi was a goddamn sadist if he wanted to be. “Do it fucking right or is that all you can do?”

Akashi ignored the bait and stopped all his movements. Chihiro groaned at the loss. He looked down at the Omega and actually _clicked his tongue._ “Mayuzumi-san, be polite.”

Chihiro stared at him in disbelief. Really?! He was spread out beneath him with his dick up his ass and Akashi lectured him about _politeness?!_ “Akashi-”

“Call me by my given name and I will forget about your little slip up”, Akashi said with a devilishly angelic smile on his lips.

Chihiro felt the heat acting up again, his dulled instincts moving his hips in order to get some friction. He tried to reach for his neglected cock, but Akashi slapped his hands away with a tut. 

“This is ridiculous. Come on, move.”

“Hm, I think not. Say it, Mayuzumi-san.”

The Omega glared at him and squeezed around the Alpha inside of him, but this time, Akashi held his composure. He could see the twitch in the redhead's abdominals and hips, though. Good.

“Do you want me to beg? Keep your damn power complex out of this”, he growled and admittedly, he was getting desperate.

“Well then”, Akashi said and started to pull out.

“No, no, no, stop!”, Chihiro called and wrapped his other leg around Akashi to pull him closer to him again, his omegan nature raging at the prospect of the Alpha leaving him now, like this.

“Heh?”, Akashi lilted. “What's this?”

“Move”, Chihiro grumbled and turned his head away. “...Seijuurou.”

Akashi's hips snapped forward and Chihiro whimpered – fucking whimpered! - and clawed at the other man's back when each thrust slammed into his sweet spot. He felt him swelling at the base and a broken gasp forced itself from his lips when Akashi's knot caught at his rim, once, twice, before locking them together. The Alpha spilled inside of Chihiro with a long, quiet moan and a choked off gasp.

“Akashi, I need-”, Chihiro panted and Akashi got the hint and touched his member. It only took two sharp tugs for him to come with a sobbed groan all over their stomachs.

Chihiro was drowsy and his vision was hazy and blurry, but he heard a velvety voice talking to him, felt fingers caressing his cheek and soft lips pressing a kiss to his sweaty forehead before he fell asleep.

 

–

 

When Chihiro awoke, he was empty and cleaned up. He drowsily sat up and realised in relief that his heat had ended. The cramping in his back and the heat in his body had gone down. Good, so it had only taken one knotting this time.

He glanced at the sleeping figure next to him. Akashi had one arm thrown over Chihiro's waist and when he slept like this, he didn't look like the most dangerous knight and strategist, the Emperor of Swords, of Teiko. He just looked like a really handsome young man.

Chihiro felt a fond smile tugging at the corners of his mouth and carefully pushed the short fuchsia bangs out of Akashi's sleeping face. He could get used to this, it was... nice. Sleepy comfortableness. Akashi's warmth next to him.

Chihiro yanked his hand back as if he had burned himself.

'What are you doing?', he scolded himself. 'Stop it. You know how he's used you. And he's future lord of the Eye. Don't get your hopes up, fucking idiot.'

Akashi stirred and blinked slowly; one eye red, the other one golden. A hand came up to rub at his eyes and then lowered again, his gaze clear and focused with no traces of sleep left behind.

“Are you feeling better now?”

There was no answer. The grey-haired man simply slid off the bed and began the search for his pants among the clothes strewn across the floor.

The other man sighed deeply. “Did I hurt you?”

“You didn't.”

“Then, may I ask what's wrong? The symptoms have worn off as far as I can tell.”

The Omega gritted his teeth and clicked his tongue. “Yeah, thanks for helping. See you.”

“Wait.”

He pulled up his pants and shook out his rumpled tunic. “What is it, huh? There's nothing left to say. I need to get the damn Moon Potion, make it quick. We shouldn't have done this in the first place.”

The Alpha on the bed frowned. “Do you regret it?”

“Well, _you_ should.”

“I asked about you, though.”

“What does it matter?” A bitter laugh. “You're heir of the Eye, Akashi. You probably shouldn't fuck your lowborn guard.”

Akashi's mismatched eyes narrowed. “What the heir of the Eye should or should not do is up to me to decide. I have not once in my life said anything in error.”

Chihiro shot him a flat glare. “Is that so? How do you explain the battle against Seirin, then?”

The redhead frowned. “It is unlike you to mention Haiboku Hill.”

“Well, it's unlike _you_ to keep on crawling back to me!”, Chihiro spat and shrugged his tunic on. Gods, he wanted to get out of here.

Akashi rose from the bed, unperturbed by his own nudity. His eyes were glinting danerously and Chihiro felt that maybe he had taken this step too far.

“Crawling? Me?”, Akashi said coolly. “You are gravely mistaken, Chihiro. I have a goal which is us and I will be victorious.”

“This”, Chihiro said through clenched teeth and gestured between the two of them. Damn it all. When did Seijuurou Akashi start using the term _us_ so genuinely? “This is not a damn battle, Akashi. If you search for victory, you're wrong here.”

“I have never been wrong. I am always right and therefore always victorious”, Akashi said resolutely and held out a hand to his lover. “My mateship proposal is still up, Chihiro. I do not care if you carry the last name 'Kuroko' or 'Mayuzumi'. I am a man of age and my father holds no power over me. I will do as I want to.”

Chihiro's chest ached when he looked at the pale, outstretched hand. “No power? He could still disinherit you.”

“If he wanted my dimwit cousin ruling Rakuzan after him, yes. Father is not so foolish to give Rakuzan away to an incompetent nephew only to get back at his son for marrying the man he loves.”

Chihiro's breath hitched. Love? He had known that Akashi must have felt more for him if his attitude and behaviour and actions were anything to go by. But love? Was Akashi even able to feel something akin to love?

“Chihiro”, Akashi said, his voice strangely soft considering the mismatched colours of his eyes right now.

“Whatver”, Chihiro said lowly and pulled his boots on. “I'm not mate material, Akashi. Go marry Saeko Midorima or Mika Nijimura, for all I care.”

“If I had the choice between Lady Saeko, Princess Mika and you, I believe that I would still choose you, Chihiro, as irrational as it might seem”, Akashi said and he sounded like he couldn't believe himself. “I genuinely wish to be with you.”

And shit, Akashi _did_ sound genuine and Chihiro tried to not imagine how it would be to have this bratty, noble psycho who was somehow still so gentle and caring as his husband and mate.

“I need to get the Moon Potion”, was what he ultimately said before disappearing in the passageway.


	18. The Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's actually updating on time?? GASP! It's me! XD  
> As usual, shout out to my best bros, Qikdaelun, imjustapieceofcake, Neko0707, Redacka, HollyWoodFix, Annavict, tiramisu and Ai_and_August_19! Thank you for your lovely comments! You rock!

“What is he like?”

Shuuzou sighed and looked at the thick quilt separating him from his father's sickbed.

“He's getting on my nerves and seems to try his best to push my buttons”, he said and frowned at the memories. “He's still as rambunctious as he was while fostered here.”

A slightly breathless laugh came from the other side. “Shougo-kun laughed teasing you even back then. You beat him up for it all the time. Especially when he ditched tutoring sessions or practice. You were quite a scary foster brother, Shuuzou.”

Shuuzou scratched his cheek and tried to remember the silver-haired man as a six year old. “I can't remember most of that, Father. He only stayed for a year or so, didn't he?”

He did remember punching Haizaki in the face once or twice and facing him in a duel. Once, they teamed up against Aomine and Kise – the only time he had won against the Blue Miracle. That was a good memory, maybe even a nice one.

“Shuuzou.” King Takeshi's voice broke and he could hear the rattling breath. “I'm so sorry.”

Shuuzou frowned and touched the quilt, yearning to speak to his father face to face. “Huh? What for?”

“For burdening you like this.” Heavy coughing made Shuuzou flinch. “A father should take care of his family, not the oldest child. If I were healthy-” 

“Stop it, Father”, Shuuzou said firmly and gods, he wanted to pull that quilt away and look his father in the eyes. “I'm glad to be taking care of our family. It makes me proud. It's only natural.”

“You don't understand, Shuuzou”, Takeshi said and for the first time in months, his voice held the same power and authority from before he fell sick. “I gave the order to have House Ogiwara and its bannermen annihilated and thus I should have been the one dealing with the consequences. But it all fell to you, a boy of sixteen at the time. I have been a coward and I cannot forgive that.”

Shuuzou clenched his jaw. His father was both called _Takeshi the Wise_ for he was one of the most loved and best kings of Teiko and _Takeshi the Cruel_ for he had been the one to order the Meiko Massacre and to bloodily beat down the Shoei and Kamizaki uprisings.

“You're many things, Father, but a coward is not one of them. You are a good king.” Mostly.

Takeshi's laugh rattled and gurgled. Shuuzou winced. The ulcer was gradually growing and squashing his father's lungs, making it hard for him to breathe. “Was, son. I was a good king.”

Shuuzou's stomach churned and he wanted to rip the quilt off and tell his father, face to face, that he would be cured and continue to rule the realm. Even if it was a lie. But just when he opened his mouth to answer, the Keep's horn sounded outside and cut him off.

“It seems your presence is required”, Takeshi said and took a deep, rattling breath. “Go.”

“Father-”

“Shuuzou. This is an order.”

He gritted his teeth and rose. Sick and confined to his bed or not, Shuuzou was not one to stand up against his royal father's demands. He knew his place.

“As you wish, Father”, he said quietly through clenched teeth and left the sickroom with long strides.

“You!”, he barked at a servant passing by. “What's the meaning of the horn?”

The poor man paled and started shaking. “T-the Highnesses P-prince Ken and Prince Sh-shougo are returning. The ship h-has been sighted.”

Shuuzou gave the shaking a servant a pitying look before making his way up on the stone walls of Kaito's Keep. 

“Nijimura”, Tooru Sekiguchi, his future brother-in-law, greeted. The pale-blond knight was staring at the port of Crownwell where the blue and white sail with the golden sun of Goldhaven was billowing in the wind.

“Sekiguchi”, Shuuzou greeted back. From what he could see, the _Golden Knight_ looked a bit damaged, but the crew seemed to be doing fine. The Keep was close enough to make out the men and women aboard, so Shuuzou squinted, searching for his husband.

He could only see black hair, golden hair, the occasional redhead, but there was no distinct silver indicating that Shougo Haizaki was aboard. And Shuuzou knew for sure that his mate was not hiding below deck, no, he would be the one standing at the ship's fore.

“Sekiguchi”, he said with a frown. “I'll have the stableboys ready Chouwa. And some guards on horseback. I'm gonna greet my husband at the dock. Are you coming with me?”

Sekiguchi grinned. “Count me in.”

 

–

 

Even if it was kaijori ship, Shougo found himself reluctant to step onto the docks and leave the sea behind for what was probably a long while. The captain of the ship was yelling at his crew to go fix the damages or search for someone who could and didn't even notice his most important passenger – apart from Prince Ken – leaving the ship.

Crownwell was as grossly warm as ever, despite it being already autumn. If there had been anything good about Masaru's Tower, then it would be the weather.

Shougo grimaced and stretched while servants carried their luggage off. Kaito's Keep seemed to be glaring at him way too closely and he didn't even want to think about royal etiquette, tutoring sessions and worst of all, putting up with Nijimura again. Especially after his heat. Fuck, he felt uncomfortable just thinking about it. But he had agreed to try to establish something akin to friendship or at least mutual respect and damn him, he wouldn't be the first one to throw the towel.

Prince Ken stomped past him, still sickly pale and definitely miserable. Nijimura's younger brother had spent the whole voyage bent over the railing emptying his stomach in crucial heaves. It had been ridiculous to watch, Shougo had laughed his ass off.

Suddenly, the servants and guards that had disembarked already, fell into deep bows and curtsies around him. Shougo turned around and felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance when he saw Shuuzou Nijimura riding towards the _Golden Knight_ 's dock.

“Getting a 'Welcome home' delegation, ain't that fancy”, he muttered, smirked and waved lazily. “Yo! I'm back!”

Nijimura froze on his horse's back and stared at him with wide blue eyes and his jaw hanging slightly open.

Shougo laughed. “What's wrong, huh? Cat got your tongue?”

Nijimura swung down from his horse and marched over to Shougo with a both horrified and determined expression on his face.

“Oi”, Shougo growled, eyes narrowed in suspicion, when Nijimura stopped right in front of him and stared at him as if he had grown a second head. “The fuck is wrong with you?!”

“No, the fuck is wrong with _you?!_ ”, his husband hissed and pointed at his hair, or rather, what was left of it. “What the actual hell did you do with your hair?!”

Shougo shrugged. So that was what it was about. “Thought I'd try a new style.” Then his cocky smirk returned full force. “You like it?”

“It looks like utter shit”, Nijimura growled. “You dyed it black and what, braided it? What are you, a girl?! You look like a wannabe pirate from Kirisaki, for fuck's sake!”

“Shut up, it looks badass!”, Shougo snapped and pulled at one of the small braids at the back of his head. One of the kaijori crew members had had black dye with him and could so some really cool hairstyles so Shougo gave it a try. And he had been sick of his silver mop anyway.

Nijimura whirled around and barked: “Ken! Oi!”

Ken, who had talked to his betrothed, Tooru Sekiguchi, up till now, turned with a sour expression on his face. “What is it?”

The crown prince pointed at Shougo so abruptly he nearly took one of his eyes out.

“Watch out!”, Shougo spat and swatted his husband's hand away.

“Care to explain why you didn't stop him from doing this shit?!”, Nijimura called and gestured to Shougo's head.

“I'm not responsible for his face”, Ken said with a scoff and Shougo could see a vein popping up at Nijimura's forehead.

“You know what I mean, idiot brother!”

Ken glared at him. “Shuu, I spent the last four days puking. I'm really not in the mood to deal with your marriage quarrels and accusations right now, alright?!”

“He's got a point here”, Shougo pointed out and licked his thumb with a cocky smirk. “Almost forgot what his pretty, princely face looked like cause he was bent over the railing the whole time.”

“Shut up, Shougo”, Nijimura snapped before Ken or Sekiguchi lashed out. Shougo glared at him at the usage of his given name, but they had this agreement. “We're going back to the Keep, get on your horse.”

Shougo cackled and grinned at Ken one more time before grabbing Nami's reins and climbing on his loyal mount's back.

“There's a council meeting this afternoon”, Nijimura said when they made their way back to the Keep.

Shougo yawned. “Yeah, so?”

“You're attending that meeting.”

“Hah?”, he drawled and shot his mate an annoyed look. “Says who?”

“Says me.” Nijimura's blue eyes narrowed. “Don't you think the future king consort of Teiko should attend a council meeting once in a while?”

Shougo shrugged. “I don't really care. Did your mother attend those meetings?”

“She still does. Queens, kings and their consorts are obliged to participate except for when their health doesn't allow it. No offence, but you look quite healthy to me, H- Shougo.”

“Then why do I have to go if your mother's there?! She's still queen!”, Shougo complained and let his head fall back with an exasperated groan.

“Easy”, Nijimura said and looked Shougo in the eyes, smirking lightly. “I'm gonna name you Navy Overlord.”

Shougo's head snapped back forwards and he stared at his husband with wide, incredulous eyes. “You're gonna have to repeat that.”

Nijimura clicked his tongue. “Not only dumb, but also deaf. Sheesh. And you're gonna rule alongside me one day?”

A vein popped up at Shougo's head and he tried to lunge at Nijimura without falling off his horse.

“Anyway”, Nijimura continued after shoving his mate back into the saddle. “I'm serious. I'm gonna name you Navy Overlord. You might as well spend your time doing something useful for Teiko and since you're probably gonna ditch anything unless it really interests you, I figured why not give you that position. The last Navy Overlord died during the war and you have grown up on Fukuda Sogo, amongst ships, dockyards and captains. Your Alpha mother was Navy Overlady. You're suited for the job and I trust you'll do it well.”

Nijimura's smirk became wicked. “Also, then you'll have to attend all council meetings.”

“You asshole”, Shougo muttered, but it lacked the usual spite. In fact, he was grinning. “Get ready for the best fucking fleet this kingdom has ever seen.”

“Don't disappoint me, punk.”

“Hah!”

“But get rid of that ugly hairstyle first.”

“Like hell I will!”


	19. The New Admiral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is late. Sorry for that, I've two jobs atm and they're both super-busy in November. So please bear with me /(*_*)\  
> Big thanks to everyone who commented on the last chapter, honestly, you guys are the best :)

The King's Council consisted of Nijimura, both as the crown prince and as his father's substitute, his mother Queen Hibiki, Lord Healer Rokurou Midorima, the captain of the City Watch Sakuya Kubota, Masaya's aunt, the First Knight of the Crownguard, Prince Haruka Nijimura, Treasury Overlady Nagisa Kise, Spy Overlady Satsuki Momoi, Justice Overlord Naoki Kasamatsu, Yukio Kasamatsu's father, the angelessan ambassador Lady Honoka Kagami, the king's First Advisor Kouzou Shirogane and the Navy Overlord whose position was still unoccupied as of yet.

Shougo couldn't believe he had actually agreed to this. What was he, stupid?

“Very well”, Queen Hibiki spoke and gestured for all of them to sit. The council room's long table had a map of Teiko pinned to it and Shougo could see that almost all of Meiko's, Shoei's and Kamizaki's great castles were replaced with the symbol for ruins. “Let us begin. Lady Nagisa?”

Ryouta Kise's sister had been appointed Treasury Overlady when her predecessor had been discovered to use the crown's funds for his own expenses. Airheads the Kaijori might be, but Nagisa Kise had a way of finding coin somehwere when it seemed impossible, convincing banks and great houses to give the crown loans and managing the treasury better than any of her predecessors. At least that was what Nijimura had said.

“The royal wedding has cost us a lot of coin”, Lady Nagisa began and flipped through her papers. “But we are on a good way to refill the expenses since the war is over and trade has been reignited throughout the realm. Still, we are in high debt to Yosen for their aliments and Rakuzan pressures the crown to repay the gold they lent late King Hiroki.”

“King Hiroki?”, Nijimura asked and frowned. “Why haven't these been paid by my grandfather or father?”

“As far as I can tell from my predecessors' notes, the crown's treasury suffered greatly over the last century, Your Highness, especially because of the building of Masaru's Tower and the employment of corresponding staff. Masaomi Akashi will have his due.”

“How much do we owe to Rakuzan?”

“About sixteen thousand goldstars, Your Highness.”

Shougo almost choked on his own saliva. 'Sixteen thousand?!'

Nijimura grimaced slightly. “I assume we can't pay at once.”

“No, Your Highness. We could, but that would empty the whole of the treasury. If you wish, I will immediately send a hawk to Lord Akashi to request paying in installments. If we proceed as I have calculated, the debts would have been paid within the next three years, give or take.”

Nijimura nodded. “Please do so, Lady Nagisa. Anything else?”

The blond woman skimmed her notes and shook her head. “No, Your Highness. Nothing that would require your immediate attention.”

“Nijimura-kun.”

All attention turned to Kouzou Shirogane, a strategist greater than Seijuurou Akashi, a seasoned diplomat and the only one who didn't belong to the royal family who was permitted to address the crown prince so colloquially.

“Rebels flying Kamizaki's banners have been sighted in Touou”, Shirogane said. “Tomoya Inoue claims not to know anything about them.”

“Tomoya Inoue has been held captive at his own castle ever since he surrendered to Daiki Aomine”, Nijimura said with a deep scowl. “He is strictly supervised as well. I doubt that he would have been able to communicate with rebels.”

“Yes”, Momoi spoke up and brushed a strand of pink hair behind her ear. “Mine and Ser Shouichi Imayoshi's men observe Inoue-kun incessantly. The kamizakish rebels do not follow his command.”

“Then whose do they follow?”, Nijimura asked, his scowl deepening even further.

“Their own, as it seems. However, it is false to assume they are rebels. Real rebels are a threat to the realm”, Momoi continued and she smiled, dangerously, knowingly. It sent a shiver down Shougo's spine the way he felt it when he faced one of the Miracles in combat, be it the battlefield or the tourney grounds. Despite her gender, Satsuki Momoi was, after all, a Miracle as well. “Kamizaki lost their spirit and will to fight after Touou crushed them. These _rebels_ tentatively try to reclaim their lands, but once Blue Peak sends Aomine-kun, they will yield once more. Kamizaki is weak, especially without Inoue-kun.”

“Shirogane-sensei, what do you suggest?”, Nijimura asked and looked at his advisor.

The old man tapped his index finger against his chin. “I agree with Momoi-san. I will have Katashi Aomine contacted about the situation and have him take care of the matter. Consider it done, Nijimura-kun.”

Hibiki held up a hand. “Lord Shirogane, the crown would like this to proceed with the least bloodshed possible.”

“I will see to it, Your Grace”, Shirogane said with a soft smile. Then, his expression turned serious again and he pointed at the waters south of Fukuda Sogo and north of Kaijo. “Kaijori ships have reported an increase of pirate activity here. They have pillaged three angelessan traders already.”

“This would be a great task for the Navy Overlord”, Nijimura said and Shougo jolted slightly in his seat. “Mylords, Myladies, I have decided to name Shougo Haizaki new Navy Overlord.”

Hibiki looked at her son in surprise. “Shougo-kun?”

“Haizaki-kun?”, Momoi called at the same time and looked at Shougo, pink eyes wide and confused. It was not a look someone was used to from _the_ Satsuki Momoi.

“With all due respect, Your Highness”, Lady Nagisa said coolly and her golden eyes were narrowed in disdain. “A traitor's brother on the council-”

“The prince's consort. A competent and experienced knight and captain, Lady Nagisa”, Shirogane, to Shougo's surprise, spoke up. “Haizaki-kun is suited for the position. House Kise's and House Haizaki's quarrels are not of importance here.”

Nagisa's eyes narrowed even further, but she didn't dare to talk back to the First Advisor.

“So, Shougo, what do you suggest?”, Nijimura asked with a lopsided smile and Shougo really wanted to punch him.

“Can I at least have the reports on the fleet before making a suggestion?”, he grumbled when he felt a lot of expectant eyes on him. “'s not like I can come up with a miraculous solution without even knowing where we're at.”

“Of course. The Admiral of the fleet will have them sent to you”, Shirogane said with a nod.

“And who's that?”, Shougo asked gruffly. Hopefully not a Kaijori – they were strong warriors and pretty decent sailors, but he hated their guts. He suddenly wished he had remembered with whom his Alpha mother had worked during her time as Navy Overlady. As far as he knew, the Admiral hadn't died or retired since then.

“The Royal Captain's Assembly elected a successor just today”, Shirogane said.

Well, damn. So the old Admiral did die. Or retire. Or whatever.

“Oh?”, Nijimura said in surprise. “Have you received the result already, Shirogane-sensei?”

The old man nodded and pulled a roll of paper from his sleeve. “They sent their fastest hawk. The Royal Captains chose Ser Ryouta Kise to henceforth occupy the position of the Admiral.”

Shougo thought he had misheard. He lunged over the table, grabbed the paper from Shirogane and unrolled it; there it was, black ink on white paper, stamped and signed: Ryouta of House Kise was to be new Admiral of the fleet.

“Really?” Nagisa sounded pleased. “That is wonderful.”

Shougo shot her a foul look and frowned when he saw Nijimura's own look of surprise. He seemed genuinely caught off guard, so naming Shougo Navy Overlord to force him to work together with his worst rival hadn't been a devious scheme of his. In fact, Nijimura looked almost worried, if not apologetic.

The Lord Healer, Rokurou Midorima, was the first one to speak up. “I don't doubt neither Ser Ryouta's nor Prince Shougo's competencies, but the two of them together? I do not believe they will successfully work together.”

Shougo growled at the implied challenge. “Hell yeah we will. Just you watch.”

Because if anyone was to renounce their post first, it sure as fuck wouldn't be Shougo.

 

–

 

As it turned out, Arata's ships had destroyed most of the royal fleet and only roughly a third had been already replaced. One of their greatest war galleys, _Iron Queen_ , named after Queen Misaki I, had been hit by no other ship than Shougo's _Black Shark_. He pretty much regretted it now – the paperwork was enormous. And Nijimura had made it clear that if Shougo procrastinated or ditched his council duties, he'd beat him to a pulp.

'Amicable relationship of mutual respect, my ass.'

“Mh, Shougo-kun, shouldn't we see the master of the fleet's dockyard about that?”

What even more sucked was personally working with Ryouta Kise. Shougo had known that it would be inevitable and he wasn't even pissed at Nijimura, strangely enough, who had put him in this whole misery because the guy had actually apologised and insisted that he had only learned of Ryouta's election the same moment Shougo did. And what was really weird was that Shougo believed him. The thing was that he had expected to work with the golden airhead via hawk – but alas, Ryouta came to Crownwell for a month or so to 'facilitate working conditions' or some pretentious crap like that.

Absolute. Utter. Bullshit.

“Yeah”, Shougo muttered and glared at his rival from above his papers.

Ryouta stretched and while Shougo had almost the same build, the other knight wore just the right clothes to accentuate his broad shoulders, slim waist and incredibly long legs. Even if said clothes were absolutely ridiculous. No, he wasn't envious of Ryouta's body, what the fuck.

“This brings back memories”, Ryouta sighed, propped his chin up on his hand and shot Shougo that sun-rivalling fake grin that made Shougo want to slam the other man's face onto the desk. Well, he wanted to do that all the time, though – the urge was real. “Remember our tutoring sessions back during our foster days, otouto-chan~?”

“Quit the damn sarcasm, Ryouta”, Shougo growled and glared at his colleague. “And what the actual fuck, I'm not your little brother!”

Ryouta hummed and his smile went from sunny to downright devilish. “Aw, Shougo-kun, we were foster brothers and you're younger than me~! I have every right to-”

“Shut the fuck up and check these plans, will ya?!”

“I've already finished those. What about you, Shougo-kun~?”

Alright, Shougo really, really wanted to punch him. But Nijimura would probably punch him even harder if he did and Shougo was so not risking that; his husband had a mean right hook.

“Fuck off”, he muttered and went back to his notes. It was true, Ryouta Kise had been something like a brother to him back when the Miracles were fostered at court. Especially Tetsuya had been dear to him. Unlike Nijimura, Shougo could remember his short time at court quite well. For roughly a year, Shougo had had seven new brothers and a sister and maybe it had been sort of nice even if every single one of them had been really quirky and weird. But to them, Shougo had never been a brother – not when he had left merely a year into their six years of shared lives. At the very best, he could have been a cousin. It sucked, even if he hated to admit it. The fact that Nijimura couldn't even properly remember him made it even worse. “It's bad enough that I gotta work with you.”

“Well, Shougo-kun is now my superior, how do you think I feel?”, Ryouta cried exasperatedly and put on a pout. “This sucks~”

Shougo couldn't help a smug grin at that. Right, Ryouta was inferior to him in position – he could order him around and shit. Maybe this wasn't as bad as he thought it might be.

“Ne, Shougo-kun.”

For now, though, he'd settle for ignoring the overexcited blond puppy.

“Shougo-kun~”

Or try to.

“Shougo.”

…

“Haizaki-kun.”

…

“Zaki-chin.”

Shougo snapped. “The fuck do you want, Ryouta?! Huh?!”

Ryouta's pout had vanished and so had any playfulness or fake laughter on his face. The Golden Knight was staring at him completely seriously and it gave Shougo these gross shivers again. He felt terribly reminded of Winterfield and he remembered the taste of blood and mud in his mouth when Ryouta had squashed his face into the muddy ground.

“Why did you marry Nijimuracchi?”

Shougo arched both eyebrows. “The hell? What did you smoke, idiot?”

“Huh? I don't smoke!”

“That so? Heh. Sheesh, you really are a sissy.”

Ryouta glared at him. “I didn't have that impression at Sayuri's tourney. I ranked higher than you, didn't I?”

Shougo held his stare. “You didn't face off against fucking Atsushi, so shut up. And didn't you lose against Daiki and Akashi?”

“Nobody can win against Akashicchi!”, Ryouta exclaimed. “And only Kagamicchi and Kurokocchi have been able to beat Aominecchi!”

“You've been pretty close that one tourney though!”, Shougo blurted out and immediately wanted to throw himself off the tower when he saw a wide, shit-eating grin spreading across Ryouta's face.

“Aww, Shougo-kun, were you rooting for me?”

“The fuck?!”, Shougo spat and threw the blond a disgusted look. “No way in hell! You fucking Miracles should all just kill each other already! Except for Tetsuya, he's cool.”

Ryouta giggled. Fucking _giggled._

That was it.

Shougo stood so abruptly that his chair slammed against the wall behind him.

“Shougo-kun?!”

“I need some fucking air!”

And with these words, he stomped out of the study.

 

–

 

The second day of working with Ryouta Kise was even worse.

“Nijimura, I'm gonna kill myself.”

“Come on, it can't be that bad.”

“He's pouting. And giggling, for fuck's sake. _Giggling._ ”

“So? That's not unusual for Kise.”

“Yeah, maybe, but not with _me!_ ”

“Gods, Haizaki, suck it up. Can't you deal with a giggling Kise? Are you really a feared knight?”

“Go fuck yourself, Nijimura!”

 

–

 

On the third day, Shougo considered bloody murder and settled for using his superior authorities.

“Hey. Do I have the authority to fire Ryouta?”

“Uhm, no.”

“Hah?! Why not?!”

“You're only prince consort.”

“And his boss.”

“...you're not really his boss, Haizaki.”

“Not?! The fuck do you mean?!”

“No. That would be me. Well, my father, actually.”

“C'mon, I might even beg, Nijimura. Just fire that puppy turned human.”

“As tempting as that offer is, no. It's not like I can fire him without a legit and proven cause, anyway. He's been elected, not named.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?! You're future king and shit!”

“Congratulations on realising that, Haizaki. Now, don't you have work to take care of?”

“Fuck you!”

 

–

 

On the fourth day, Shougo felt like crying in despair. Not that he would have done that. But he very, very much felt like it.

“Nijimura.”

“It's about firing Kise again, right.”

“He drives me up the wall, for fuck's sake!”

“Up the wall? I would pay to see that show. Is it still on?”

“Dammit, Nijimura! I'm fucking serious!”

“Duh, so am I, punk. If you're so bothered by him, step down. Renounce your post.”

“No way in hell. Ryouta's gonna step down, not me.”

“Figures. He's told me the same thing.”

“Really? That he's gonna step down?”

“Are you stupid?”

“Oi!”

 

–

 

After five days of working with Ryouta Kise, Shougo was so done, he didn't even care about his pride or reputation anymore.

“Please, Nijimura, I'm begging you.”

“Yeah, I can see that. Do I even wanna know?”

“Fire Ryouta. Just kick him out. I'd do anything. I'll suck your dick right now if you agree.”

“Hah?! No way in hell, punk! My dick's not going anywhere near your teeth!”

“Nijimuraaaaaa, pleaseeeeeee.”

“Shougo Haizaki begging to give a blowjob. Who would have guessed?”

Nijimura ended up with a book in his face that day.

 

–

 

On the sixth day, Shouo didn't come to complain about his troublesome colleague. Nijimura found him praying in the Keep's chapel for Ryouta to fall down the stairs and break his neck. The younger man got a punch to the face for that, much to the present Itsujosei's horror.


	20. A New Name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys rock my world, seriously! <3  
> Hugs and kisses go out to tenshi_04, akhira_yuki, Raisa+Islam, Ai_and_August_19, Nekoshi, HollyWoodFix and the ones that have stuck to this fic since the very beginning: Redacka, Qikdaelun, robo123 and Neko0707 :)

More often than not, Haizaki was the one to go to bed first, collapsing on the mattress without even changing out of his clothes or crawling under the covers. Ever since Shuuzou had appointed him Navy Overlord, Haizaki was buried in work – he tried to avoid it, of course, because he was still a lazy ass, but the one time Shuuzou had found him lounging on top of the walls instead of hunching over drafts for the new galleys, he had actually punched him. Haizaki had fought back, naturally, but he still epically lost. In hand-to-hand combat, Shuuzou was much better.

There were so many tasks and Kise, who was used to overwork, ushered Haizaki around the city, visiting forges, dockyards, carpenter's workshops, captain's caserns and more. It didn't contribute to Haizaki's love for the blond knight – or lack thereof.

Lazy he might be, but Haizaki actually trained from time to time in the yard with knights of the Crownguard or other nobles. Today must have been such a day, because when Shuuzou came into their chambers at the end of a tiring day of dealing with petty petitioners, his husband was passed out on the bed, clad in simple clothes with sweat and with his boots on. He might have even looked cute if it wasn't for his awful hairstyle and obnoxious snoring.

Shuuzou sighed and contemplated waking him and very possibly having to sleep next to an irritated and tired Haizaki who would then probably kick him in the groin on purpose or be an affectionate creep and get him under the covers.

He decided to go with the “affectionate creep”-route.

Shuuzou changed into his own sleepwear first and then carefully pulled off Haizaki's boots (not without wrinkling his nose, because ew). He decided to let him sleep in these clothes – they didn't seem too uncomfortable and he couldn't be bothered to try and peel him out of them.

“Sheesh”, Shuuzou muttered and wrenched the sheets from under Haizaki's body, resulting in the younger man to grumble and stir in his sleep.

Sometimes, he would remember snippets of Haizaki's time at court as a child. It was rather dark and since he had spent more time with the other Miracles, his memories of them were that much clearer. He would mostly remember chasing the younger boy through the palace when the punk was ditching a tutoring session or a sword's practice, but occasionally, he also remembered Haizaki dunking Kise underwater in the communal royal bath, or Murasakibara, Kuroko and Haizaki running away from a very pissed off Midorima for whatever reason. 

Shuuzou smiled ruefully. If he hadn't left for Angeles, maybe they would all still be so close. Maybe Akashi would never have changed. Maybe Aomine wouldn't haven fallen into apathy. Maybe all the Miracles would remember how to genuinely smile when they were around each other.

Seeing Haizaki and Kise interact like they were right now made Shuuzou wince. He could remember that the two of them had been fairly close, if not always in a good way. They had always been up in each other's faces, but at the end of the day, their quarrel was forgotten and they wolfed down food next to each other without a care in the world. 

Kise's and Haizaki's relationship had passed the point of no return at Winterfield where Kise had beaten his foster brother for the very first time and left him humiliated and defeated. Haizaki's bitterness about Winterfield was still present in every word he spoke about Kaijo.

Akashi reverted back to his old self at Haiboku Hill where Rakuzan had been defeated by Seirin, but sometimes he switched back. Aomine had rediscovered his passion when Seirin beat him at Sonshitsu Mountain. Kise had learned to get down from his high horse and not separate people into the ones that were lucky enough to be his friend and the ones who weren't. Midorima had learned how to put his trust into others than himself and fate when he met his now husband, Kazunari Takao of Hawk's Eyrie. Murasakibara had learned the taste of defeat and desperation at Doryoku at the hands of Seirin and his husband, Tatsuya Himuro of Mirage Hall.

And Haizaki?

Shuuzou looked at his sleeping mate with a frown. Winterfield had changed him, but Shuuzou couldn't quite pinpoint how.

With a sigh, Shuuzou rolled onto his side, shifted to the edge of the bed as usual and closed his eyes, waiting for the warm embrace of sleep to come.

 

–

 

He was rudely awakened by a kick to the knee.

Shuuzou had really hoped to start this day without yelling at his husband for his violent sleeping habits.

“Hai-za-ki...!!!”, he growled and shot upright to grab the younger man by the collar and thoroughly shake him, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that Haizaki wasn't asleep. 

The Omega's hands clutched at his stomach and he curled into himself, writhing as if to find a good position. His jaw was clenched so tightly, it must have been painful. Haizaki's whole face was twisted in pain.

For one shocking moment, Shuuzou thought that his husband had gone into heat prematurely, but when he sniffed the air, there was no trace of the trademark heady scent.

“Oi, Haizaki”, Shuuzou said and grabbed his mate's shoulder, concern evident in his voice. “Are you alright?”

“Do I look fucking alright?!”, Haizaki growled and squeezed his eyes shut with a grunt. “Fuck. _Fuck._ ”

Shuuzou was, admittedly, starting to worry. “You have cramps?”

“Damn ye- _ugh_ \- yes, I do!”

Shuuzou stumbled over his next words. “Is it... like... your stomach or... your...”

Haizaki's look could have killed. “Yes, my _womb_. Probably fucking post-heat cramps. _Shit!_ ”

He spasmed and Shuuzou could see actual tears forming in Haizaki's eyes, from pressure or pain, he couldn't tell. What he could tell was that it sucked to see the stupid punk cry and writhe in pain.

Shuuzou hurried out of bed and rang the healer's bell, next to the one for the servants, thrice to underline his urgency. Lord Healer Rokurou Midorima was preoccupied with his father the king, but there were other healers in the palace.

“What're you - _damn_ \- doing?”, Haizaki uttered through gritted teeth.

“Calm down”, Shuuzou said quietly and sat next to his mate, pressing a cool hand to his sweaty forehead. “I called for a healer.”

Haizaki unconsciously leant into Shuuzou's touch and when another cramp wracked his body, one of his hands clutching his stomach flew up to grasp Shuuzou's free hand.

Shuuzou had rarely felt so powerless. There was nothing he could do to lessen the pain, he could only sit next to his suffering husband and hold his hand.

“Hey”, he said when he discovered the first tears on the younger man's face. “I'm here, alright? I'm here. It's gonna be fine.”

Haizaki looked like he wanted to snarl at him, but instead he just gripped Shuuzou's hand so tightly it hurt. He would say nothing about the pain, however, since Haizaki was clearly in more agony.

Shuuzou felt a croon rumbling at the back of his throat and he didn't suppress it this time. He had learned that Haizaki hated being crooned to because it actually calmed him down and made him submit to his omegan instincts he despised so much, but right now, the croon could maybe help him to relax and lessen the intensity of the cramps?

The doors to their chambers flew open and a small female healer accompanied by two trainee healers ran inside.

“Your Highnesses”, she greeted breathlessly and Shuuzou could make out the lilting accent of Kirisaki Daiichi. “I'm Healer Kasumi, may I?”

She jerked her head at Haizaki's curled up form.

Shuuzou waved her closer without stopping to croon. Screw etiquette, it seemed to help Haizaki a bit.

“He says they're post-heat cramps”, Shuuzou said while Kasumi took Haizaki's pulse.

“Post-heat cramps are no rarity, but they are usually rather weak. Has he been experiencing a surprising amount of stress? Exertion he wasn't used to?”, the healer asked and took a small vial with a clear fluid from one of her trainees. 

Shuuzou felt guilt gnawing at his stomach when Haizaki replied: “Yeah, I- _ugh_ \- got appointed Navy Overlord.”

Kasumi uncorked the vial and motioned for her trainees to lift Haizaki up so he was sitting upright. “This will help lessen the pain immediately, Your Highness.”

Haizaki greedily gulped until the healer took the vial from his lips and within moments, he sagged against the pillows the trainees had piled up behind his back.

“Your Highness.” Kasumi turned to Shuuzou who had been sitting next to the healer and his mate rather uselessly. “I have to examine his womb and canal for an infection that could also cause cramps as bad as these.”

Haizaki's head whipped around. “Huh?!”

Kasumi held his gaze. “I said I need to-”

“I heard you the first time!” The younger man turned to Shuuzou, avoiding his gaze. “You wait outside, alright? That's not- you shouldn't be here. It's weird.”

Shuuzou blinked owlishly until he realised what the healer was telling him and why Haizaki was so awkward about it. “Ah, of course.”

He climbed off the bed and threw one more look at Haizaki who had crossed his legs upon the healer's announcement and just looked very, very uncomfortable.

Shuuzou winced in sympathy before leaving for the adjacent bathroom. There was no way his guards would see him in sleepwear waiting in front of his own rooms. 

A while later, one of the trainee healers opened the door and curtsied. “We are done, Your Highness.”

Shuuzou cleared his throat and reentered the bedroom. Healer Kasumi was washing her hands in a basin while Haizaki was buttoning his pants up, eyes directed anywhere but at Shuuzou.

“It was not an infection, Your Highness”, Kasumi spoke and dried her hands, looking pretty nonchalant for someone who had just had her finger's up the prince consort's butt. “It seems that the increase of stress and physical activity such as swordfight disrupted the body's healing process from the last heat. Prince Shougo, I sincerely advise you to take these herbs, they milden the cramps and help the body regenerate.”

Haizaki grabbed the pouch that was held out to him without another word.

“Thank you, Kasumi-sensei”, Shuuzou said and offered a polite smile. “You are dismissed.”

The healer and her trainees curtsied and left the chambers.

“Are you... used to that?”, Shuuzou asked with a frown.

Haizaki shot him an angry look, but his cheeks were flushed in embarrassment. “The fuck you're talking about?!”

“Duh. That examination.”

The silver-haired man sneered. “Yeah, maybe your fucking Alpha knot doesn't need to be checked for injuries after a rut or gets infected, but Omegas gotta get checked for shit like that! What are you, stupid?”

Shuuzou glared at him. “Oi, oi, watch your mouth, punk.”

Haizaki flipped him off and stalked towards the door without even changing out of his sweaty clothes from the day before.

“Oi, Niji!”, he barked. His ears were bright red and he didn't quite meet Shuuzou's eyes. “...thanks.”

Haizaki slammed the door shut and Shuuzou stood dumbfounded in the middle of the room.

Goddamn, he felt his own cheeks heating up.

Had Haizaki just given him a nickname?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So short info: it's time for my university applications. Next week is going to be super-busy for me because of that, so please bear with me if the next chapter is late or stuff :(


	21. Greenhills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The feedback for the last chapter just blew me off my feet, you guys are seriously amazing!! <3  
> Thank you, Redacka, tenshi_04, 2whitewolfalpha6, Raisa+Islam, Scorus, Neko0707, HollyWoodFix, SherryenaQiran, Ai_and_August_19, Nekoshi, Boom, Qikdaelun, imjustapieceofcake and Trey+Tha for commenting! I love y'all!

Shintarou Midorima was the greatest archer of a lifetime; tall, proud and undoubtedly talented beyond measures.

Kazunari didn't exactly disagree, but whoever thought that his husband was just that, was a dumb butt.

Midorima was the weirdest guy he knew, obsessed with astrology and future-telling, socially awkward and nothing short of a tsundere. Yes, his Shin-chan was an insanely talented archer, crazy smart, way too proud, and well, at a height of 196cm pretty tall. 

Also, he had sinfully long eyelashes.

But honestly, he was not the heroic, impeccable, noble knight people made him out to be. He had quirks and habits that only those who could see behind the scenes knew of.

“Takao, what are you doing, in fact?”

Kazunari almost fell out of his hiding tree in surprise. “Ah? You knew I was here?”

Really, he thought he had hidden well enough! How did Midorima see him up there?! 

“I'll let you know that it is quite unusual for humans to reside in trees, in fact”, Midorima said and stared right at Kazunari, through the leaves hiding him from sight. Or not.

Takao laughed and climbed down the tree swiftly. “Whoops, you caught me, Shin-chan! I admit defeat!”

Midorima huffed and adjusted his vision aids. “Why were you stalking me, Takao?”

“Stalking.” He cackled. “Nah, don't use harsh words like that!”

Midorima sighed and put away his bow and quiver. Beads of sweat were rolling down his neck and temple from the exercise and to be frank, Kazunari was a tiny bit disappointed that his husband hadn't asked him to train with him.

So, being himself, he told him just that.

“Y'know, Shin-chan”, Kazunari said casually and grabbed a spear from the choice of weaponry on the side. “You've been practicing less with me. It's kinda disheartening!”

Midorima frowned. “Don't be ridiculous. It's for the best.”

“The best? Naw, Shin-chan, don't say that!” Kazunari twirled the spear once, twise and hauled it with deadly precision at the target. The straw soldier's throat was pierced and the spearhead hit the tree trunk behind it with a loud thud. He grinned in satisfaction. He was still as sharp as ever, even if Midorima hadn't practiced with him the past few weeks. 

“I...” Midorima cleared his throat, nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring, pointing it up at the sky. “Stop talking nonsense, Takao.”

Kazunari grabbed another spear and chuckled. “Nonsense? Shin-chan, have you even listened to yourself?”

Midorima let the arrow loose and it hit the straw soldier a good hundred metres away with a force that knocked its helmet off. “You should rest.”

The Omega jammed the spear into the ground and leaned on it. “Oh, so I'm sick now? Shin-chan, I know your uncle is the greatest healer of the century and you might or might not have an aptitude for it, but I can tell you for sure, I'm jolly!”

He grinned and gave his husband a shameless once-over that sent the Beta blushing and coughing. “I could show you just how good I'm feeling~”

Midorima turned away, adjusting his glasses once more. The tips of his ears were bright red. “I refuse.”

Now, Kazunari was offended. Midorima's quirks and moods were nothing unknown to him, on the contrary, they were part of the man he had fallen in love with. But his advances being outright rejected? No, no, no, his pride as a man was wounded.

“Alright”, he said and the smile slipped off his face to be replaced by a suspicious scowl. “Will you tell me what's wrong or what?”

Midorima silently nocked another awrrow, drew, shot. Nocked, drew, shot. Nocked, drew, shot. One after another, the arrows pierced the straw soldier with scary accuracy. 

“Shin-chan!”, Kazunari called and poked his husband with the foot of the spear. “Tell me!”

Midorima looked at him with an unreadable expression before putting his bow and quiver aside. He averted his gaze and turned away. “I will see you at dinner, Takao.”

“Oi!”, Kazunari yelled after him. “Shin-chan! Wait up! _Shin-chan!_ ”

 

–

 

Greenhills was a giant, half-timbered fortress in the midst of the Old Forest. On its highest tower, the Sky Direct, one could see all the way to Hawk's Eyrie, a good twenty miles from Greenhills.

Kazunari recently found himself on the Sky Direct more often than usual. He sat between merlons, legs dangling into nothing and just staring at the treetops rustling in the wind. Winter was almost here, it would probably start to snow soon and the winds up at the tower were cruel and cold.

Sometimes, when Midorima spent hours in his study brooding over books and Kazunari grew tired of trying to distract him, he'd climb up the stairs to the Sky Direct and quietly long for the castle he could spot far from the Old Forest, the castle where his parents and sister still resided. 

It wasn't that he was not happy at Greenhills – on the contrary. He loved Midorima, he adored his little sister and there was nothing better than teasing his husband with Lady Midorima. His father-in-law was something else – Tetsurou Midorima had planned to arrange a betrothal of his son and heir to Terumi Murasakibara, the second son of the Warden of Yosen, and he had been less than amused when Shintarou came before him to announce his courtship with Kazunari. Kazunari knew he wasn't, politically speaking, a bad match for the heir of Greenhills; he was heir of Hawk's Eyrie and a respected and famous warrior, but compared to the son of a High Lord, even if he was only third in line? Well. 

Anyway, Kazunari was happy at Greenhills. He didn't regret a single thing when he decided to befriend the weird, quirky son of his liege lord and look where it had led him – into said son's bed.

Kazunari grinned and wrapped himself tighter in the cloak he had brought with him to shield him from the winds. Yeah, he regretted nothing.

Still, there were times when he wished he could just walk down the hallways and talk to his sister about anything, to hear his parents' affectionate banter.

Especially when his husband avoided him for whatever reason.

Kazunari huffed and propped his chin up on one hand. Once or twice in the past, he had gone too far with his teasing and Midorima had sulked, but that had been resolved quickly enough. He couldn't think of something he had said that could have been so upsetting to render his mate in such a mood.

“Well, maybe he caught a cold or something”, Kazunari muttered to himself and hopped onto solid ground behind the merlons. But Midorima hadn't gotten sick ever since he was a child – the Beta was fairly proud of that 'accomplishment', saying that it showed that fate was in his favour. He always got a bit antsy when Kazunari's heat came around, but it wasn't time yet, by far.

He huffed out a breath and began his descent. He could still ask the other person who knew his Shin-chan as well as he did and if Saeko Midorima didn't have an answer, then Shin-chan was probably going mad.

He found Saeko where he ususally did – fencing. Unlike her brother whose weapon of choice was and and always would be the bow, she took to swordfighting, especially to fencing.

“Hey, Sae-chan!”, he called and Saeko's opponent immediately dropped her weapon and curtsied in the face of the heir's husband. 

“Mylord.”

Kazunari shuddered. Gods, Greenhills was really uptight about some things! At Hawk's Eyrie, no one would react to the heir's consort like they would towards the king. It was a bit ridiculous, but then, House Midorima was pretty ridiculous.

“Kazunari!”, Saeko called out with a smile and wiped her sweaty brow after handing her epee to her squire. Her long green hair was tied into a single braid that slapped against her hip when she walked towards him. Saeko Midorima had the typical green hair of House Midorima, but her mother's hazel eyes. Like her brother, she had sinfully long lashes and needed vision aids. Unlike Shintarou, however, she was quite blunt, less socially awkward and an Alpha. Despite her dynamic, she would not inherit Greenhills after Tetsurou Midorima's death. The lands of Shutoku would pass on to Shintarou, not her. “Will you fence with me for a bit?”

Kazunari laughed, but waved her off. “Nah, I don't want to cry myself to sleep tonight. I'll stick with my spears and knives.”

Saeko arched an eyebrow and shrugged. “Suit yourself. How can I help you?”

“Ah, I actually wanted to ask you something about Shin-chan.”

“Shintarou? Sure, of course.” Saeko sat on the nearest bench while waving for her squire to fetch her some water. “Go on, shoot.”

Kazunari bounced on the balls of his eet and ran a hand through his black hair. “Shin-chan's behaving strangely.”

Saeko blinked. “Isn't he always? He's a weirdo.”

He laughed. “Yeah, but- it's not the _I'm carrying this chamber pot because Oha Asa told me it was my lucky item_ -strange. He hasn't practiced with me in three weeks! And he avoids me otherwise just as much! I'm suffering from Shin-chan-deprivation, Sae-chan! Is he normal around you?”

Saeko adjusted her glasses and scowled. In moments like this, the fourteen year old looked so much like her brother, it made Kazunari want to pinch her cheeks. “Well, as normal as he gets, yes.”

Kazunari chewed on his bottom lip. Then, it was because of him. But what could he have done to upset Shin-chan so badly? He honestly couldn't think of something.

“If he's just being awkward around you, maybe it's because of your cycle?”, Saeko asked and Kazunari shook his head.

“No, can't be. I'm not due for another two months or so. Do I smell weird?”

Saeko sniffed and shook her head. “You don't. At least to me. But Shintarou's a Beta and they are more sensitive to changes in scent, you know? Especially with their mates. It could be that the two of us, being Omega and Alpha, just can't notice yet.”

“Right”, Kazunari muttered. “But why would my scent change if my heat's not due?”

Saeko let out a long exhale. “I don't know. Pregnancy, sicknesses, stress, infected scent glands. There are many reasons. I heard that the Red Death announces itself through changes of scent as well, but that could just be a rumour.”

Suddenly, Kazunari's stomach churned. The Red Death? The epidemic that had cost thousands of lives during the war? The illness King Takeshi was still suffering from? Midorima had told him to rest. What if he was indeed sick? But that couldn't be. Midorima would have taken action. And pregnancy? Pfft. As if. He hadn't had sex with his darling Shin-chan in three weeks ever since he started avoiding him. And he had dutifully taken his Moon Potion after his last heat. He wasn't particularly stressed, either, and he didn't feel any pain or stuff at his glands. Maybe he should go see the healer to be sure that they weren't infected, though.

“Well, I guess I'll just go bug him until he tells me”, he exclaimed and waved at his sister-in-law while bouncing off. “Thanks, Sae-chan!”

Saeko waved back and then grabbed her epee and turned to her opponent from before to resume the fight.

 

–

 

Midorima was busy bandaging his fingers when Kazunari burst into the room. 

“Shin-chan~”, he chanted and barelled into his husband's desk, just catching himself in time before he slammed into the wood.

Midorima reeled backwards and sputtered: “T-Takao?! What are you doing, in fact?!”

Kazunari shot him a wide grin and propped his chin up on his hands, elbows resting on probably important documents. “Visiting my hubby, of course! Is that wrong, Shin-chan~?”

Midorima's eyes narrowed. “You ran here?”

“Yu-p”, Kazunari said, putting emphasis on the 'p'. “C'mon, Shin-chan, let's do something fun together. Horseracing in the forest! Loser has to walk back home!”

The taller man seemed conflicted for a moment, then he shook his head. “No. And you shouldn't run around, in fact.”

Alright, now Kazunari was pissed. His cheerful grin slipped right off his face and he openly frowned.

“Shin-chan, you're my best friend, my mate, my husband, but if you start telling me what I should and shouldn't do, then we'll have a pretty big problem.”

Midorima shifted in his seat and continued bandaging his fingers. His forehead was set in a stubborn scowl. “It's only for your safety.”

Kazunari laughed, incredulous and bitter. “My safety? What the hell Shin-chan?! Since when do I need _you_ to worry about my safety? I can defend myself just well, thank you very much.”

Midorima's jaw clenched and his nostrils flared. “I know that, Takao. Calm down, in fact.”

Kazunari threw up his hands in exasperation. 

“Then, why?!”, he called. “Why do you avoid me? We haven't practiced together ever since my heat ended-”

Midorima blushed at the mention of his husband's mating cycle. 

“-we barely did anything together! Hells, we didn't even kiss, Shin-chan! Like, I'm just wondering, what happened? Is it because of me? Because I cant recall offending you.”

Kazunari swallowed and his voice was disturbingly small when he continued: “Do you even still like me, Shin-chan? Y'know, I'm...”

Gods, why was his voice so small? Why was his throat so tight? Kazunari swallowed harshly.

“I'm getting kind of desperate here. It's been almost a month. So don't make this worse for me and just tell me. Please.”

Midorima's green eyes were wide and he stopped bandaging his fingers. “Takao...”

Shit, this was bad. Kazunari felt like crying.

His husband rose abruptly, walked around the desk with long strides and grabbed both of Kazunari's hands in his.

“Stop talking nonsense, Kazu”, he said quietly and Kazunari hiccupped at the affectionate nickname reserved for their most private moments. “I am, in fact, in love with you.”

Midorima's cheeks dusted pink when he said that and it made Kazunari want to both laugh and cry.

“Then, what's wrong?”, he whispered.

“Nothing.”

“Shintarou-”

“I just-” Midorima stopped and cleared his throat. “Whenever we do something together, it's physically taxing.”

Kazunari barely suppressed a waggle of his eyebrows. Midorima's unintentional innuendos were just too much, even in this situation.

“And I do not think that this would be wise... in your condition, in fact.”

The smaller man blinked in confusion. “My condition. You're not talking about my dynamic, are you? Because that would be pretty much the shittiest thing you've ever said.”

Midorima frowned. “Of course not. When have I ever reduced you to your dynamic, in fact?”

“Well, never-”

“And I will not start today.” Midorima cleared his throat again and then gestured to Kazunari's middle. “I was talking about... the child.”

Kazunari felt like someone had pulled the floor from underneath his feet. He stared at Midorima's completely serious expression and opened and closed his mouth again, like a fish.

“Which child?”, he croaked.

Midorima frowned. “Our child, of course. Did you not notice?”

Oh gods, Kazunari had to grip his mate's arm for support. “No?!”

His voice was slightly higher-pitched than usual. A child, their child?! Had Saeko been right, had Midorima's finer Beta senses discovered his pregnancy earlier than he did?!

“I took the Moon Potion, though, didn't I?!”, he blabbered. “I'm sure I did. I'm, like, completely sure. Why- are you- how do you- huhh?!”

Midorima awkwardly rubbed his mate's hand in his. “Your scent... it changed. And mingled with a new one. I looked it up. Every book I consulted told me same thing: that we are expecting a child, in fact.”

Kazunari felt like fainting. One trembling hand slowly moved to his stomach and touched the flat, muscular outline of it. “A baby. Right there. Inside me. Our baby. Oh gods. Shin-chan, I think I'm gonna faint.”

Midorima immediately darted forward, worry etched onto his face. “Sit, in fact!”

Kazunari dropped into the nearest chair and crossed his hands behind his head with a breathless laugh. 

“Kazunari...?”

It made sense, though. Terribly so, if he thought about it. How his skin had gotten so smooth and soft recently. The grumpiness and slight nausea in the mornings, the sleepiness in the afternoons. He had blamed the wine...

Oh gods, he drank wine! While pregnant! Midorima had tried to stop him, but once the green-haired man had turned his back, Kazunari had emptied the cup.

Holy Itsukami.

“Kazunari!”

He jolted and shook his head quickly. “Ah, sorry, Shin-chan. I- this is quite a lot to stomach. Literally.”

Midorima's brows furrowed at the pun.

“Sorry, sorry”, Kazunari said with a weak chuckle. Their child. Pregnancy. He was having a baby. “Let's, uhm, consult a healer. To actually... confirm. This. All of this.”

He gestured to his stomach. He trusted Midorima's senses, of course, just like the other Miracles he was nothing short of a beast, but he needed to hear it from a professional healer's lips.

Midorima nodded and then stiffly crouched next to Kazunari and pressed a soft kiss to his lips that sent the smaller man warm and tingling all over.

“Kazu”, he said softly once he pulled back. His lips were tilted upwards in a small smile. “I'm happy, in fact.”


	22. The Winter Solstice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to last chapter's MVPs Redacka, 2whitewolfalpha6, Scorus, Nekoshi, Trey+Tha, hella_fujoshi, HollyWoodFix, tenshi_04, SherryenaQiran, Neko0707, Ai_and_August_19, Qikdaelun and BrazilianRedPaladin! I was honestly worried about posting that MidoTaka chapter since most of you guys are here for NijiHai, but I got so much positive feedback, I'm literally over the moon <3  
> But now, let's go back to our favourite Rainbow Captain and Cornrows Punk - I hope you enjoy :)

The sun had long ago stopped shining warmly on Crownwell. The men and women of the city wore thick cloaks and scarves and gloves if they could afford it.

Winter had come and so had the winter solstice.

Traditionally, there was ahuge banquet and ball held at the palace and all over Teiko, giant beacons were lit.

As protocol dictated, the king and queen were to have the first dance of the ball. Normally, that would have been King Takeshi and Queen Hibiki, but once again, Shuuzou had to stand in for his sick father and have that dance.

The Great Hall of the Keep was richly decorated with fairy lights, garlands and beautiful statues of pale, milky glass. The great chandeliers illuminated the hall and the music and the chatter of the guests filled the air. Musicians played the traditional winter solstice song, _Yuki no Uta_ , and while Shuuzou twirled his mother on the dance floor, more and more couples started to join them.

“You should dance with your husband, Shuuzou”, Hibiki said with a wry smile, “rather than with your old mother.”

“Don't be ridiculous, Mother”, Shuuzou said with a scoff and glared at Kise who was currently dancing with Satsuki Momoi and nearly waltzed into them. “He probably can't even dance.”

Hibiki chuckled. “It's true, he doesn't seem like a dancer. But you forget, despite being a famous captain and warrior, Shougo-kun is a noble and he had an appropriate upbringing.”

“Mother, can you even imagine him on the dance floor?!”

“Why, yes, I can. Be a dear, Shuuzou, and dance with him.”

The crown prince huffed exasperatedly. “Fine.”

Hibiki smiled at her son, but her eyes were sad. “I just want what every parent wants for their child. I want you to be happy, Shuuzou. And I'm sorry that you're not.”

Shuuzou bit his lips and twirled his mother under his arm. “Don't be. I'm not as unhappy as you think I am, Mother. It- all of this is not as bad as it might seem.”

He glanced back up at the High Table where Haizaki sat and watched the dancing nobles in boredom. He couldn't help but half-smile at his husband's expression.

The song ended and the guests cheered and applauded before bustling off to find a new partner for the next dance.

Hibiki gave her son a nudge. “Ask him, Shuuzou. Queen's orders.”

Shuuzou rolled his eyes, but strode back up to the High Table, blocking Haizaki's view. 

“What do you want?”, the younger man grumbled.

Shuuzou suddenly felt very awkward and uncomfortable. He barely resisted the urge to rub the back of his head in embarrassment. “Dance with me.”

Haizaki almost choked on his wine. “What?!”

The older man scowled and crossed his arms. “Once dance. Come on. It'll be weird if you just sit there, moping around all night.”

Haizaki's frown deepened. The Pillager was clad into deep green robes with red and silver embroidery and he looked incredibly unhappy in them. His hand constantly came up to pull at his high collar. “I don't dance. Like, ever.”

Shuuzou started to feel eyes staring at his back. Gods, now people saw how he was failing to ask his own mate for a dance.

“It's either me”, he said, a wicked smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. “Or Kise.”

Haizaki threw a glance at the grinning blonde making his way up to the High Table and quickly pushed his chair back.

“One dance”, he growled and held up one finger. “Only one, got it?”

Shuuzou rolled his eyes and offered his arm. “Got it.”

The musicians started playing _Reign of Yuzuru_ , a slow and rather dark song, but at least it wasn't _Men of Meiko_ again.

Haizaki reluctantly placed one hand on his husband's shoulder while Shuuzou rested his on the small of his back. They locked the fingers of their free hands and Shuuzou gently nudged his mate into the first step.

“Look at that”, he said in mock surprise, eyes twinkling with mischief. “Lord Cornrows can actually dance.”

Haizaki shot him an ugly look. “Fuck off. Just because I can, doesn't mean I enjoy it.”

Shuuzou shrugged. “Whatever. Suit yourself.”

They stepped apart and circled each other once, left hands touching, alongside the other dancing couples around them. 

“I will send you with Kise to Blue Peak”, Shuuzou said quietly once they were closer again, so that only his husband could hear him. “Under the pretext of helping him organise his wedding as well as examining Touou's fleet.”

Haizaki's brows furrowed and he clicked his tongue. “And the real reason is?”

Shuuzou gestured vaguely to his scent glands. “Can't you guess?”

The younger man frowned at him, but suddenly his eyes sparked with realisation and his cheeks flushed with colour. “Oh. Right. That.”

Shuuzou was suddenly met with the urgent desire to kiss his mate just to see him blush so adorably again. “You're adorable when you blush like that.”

Oh shit. Had he just said that out loud?

Haizaki intentionally stepped on Shuuzou's foot with way more force than necessary. “What the fuck? I'm not adorable.”

“Yes, you are.” Shuuzou couldn't help but smile and stepped on Haizaki's foot in retaliation, eliciting a grunt from the younger man. “An adorable little baby shark.”

“Baby shark-?! Oi!”

The crown prince laughed and rested his forehead on his husband's shoulder in an act of impulse. Haizaki stiffened for a short moment, but he didn't shake him off, only grumbled something under his breath. Shuuzou smiled softly and inhaled the crisp scent of ocean breezes. This was nicer than he had thought. But the song ended quickly enough and Haizaki stomped off back to the High Table, leaving Shuuzou with a weird, tingling sensation in the pit of his stomach.

'Crap.'

 

–

 

Shuuzou sighed and looked at his court laughing and cheering around the giant bonfire on Isamu's Plaza beneath the night's dark sky. When the clocks announced midnight, the royal guests had relocated to Isamu's Plaza to light the bonfire, drink and celebrate. The guards had formed a tight ring around the feasting nobles, archers were positioned on every roof. If anyone died tonight, it wouldn't be for lack of security.

“Oi, Nijimura!”

Shuuzou looked up from his gloved fingers and met his husband's eyes. Haizaki was tipsy or just cold, anyway, his cheeks and nose were flushed pink. He was wrapped in a thick, white fur coat, like Shuuzou and the rest of the royal family, and bits of snow had gotten caught in his atrocious braided black hair. 

“What's up?”, Shuuzou asked and his eyes widened in surprise when Haizaki held out a second horn of hot, spiced wine.

“Drink up, you've been looking grumpy as fuck since the feast relocated here”, Haizaki said and Shuuzou took the horn even though he was in no mood to drink. “It's good!”

Shuuzou sighed and took a sip. Indeed, it was good, strong and spiced with cinnamon. The heat of it warmed him up from within.

“Some guys asked for you.”

Shuuzou really couldn't care less. Masaya Kubota and Tooru Sekiguchi could get drunk without him, they were probably hammered already. “I'm busy.”

“Yeah, busy moping around, ya killjoy. C'mon, Niji, it's a feast and shit, aren't ya supposed to be happy?”, Haizaki scoffed and flopped down next to his husband on the cushioned stone bench. 

“Not in the mood for feasting”, Shuuzou muttered and turned away from Haizaki's gaze, desperately trying to ignore the fluttery feeling in his stomach when the younger man called him by the nickname Shuuzou had grown so fond of. “Go celebrate. Kise's over there, don't you want to challenge him one more time?”

Haizaki grinned and took a big swig from his wine. “Damn straight. Oi! Ryou~ta~! Refill your fucking wine, I'll drink your sorry ass under the table!”

The cheery golden-haired knight popped up a few benches further and waved his own horn of wine with a triumphant smirk. “In your dreams, Shougo-kun! You're on!”

Haizaki cackled and took off in his colleague's general direction.

Shuuzou looked after him until he lost sight of his ugly black hair in the crowd.

Gods, he was in trouble. He was slowly, but seriously, falling for his husband whom he had promised an entirely platonic marriage. 

 

–

 

Shougo gave up after the tenth horn. He was swaying and slurring his words while Ryouta, the blond little fucker, was laughing and teasing and not the slightest bit drunk. How was that even possible?! How could a Kaijori wimp like him hold his liquor so well?!

“You”, Shougo slurred and pointed at Ryouta. Well, at one of the Ryoutas. “This once-! You- beat me!”

The crowd that had formed around them started hooting and Ryouta joined right in, downing the rest of his wine in one go.

“Well drank, Shougo-kun!”, he giggled and put one arm around the black-haired man's shoulder. “I'm impressed!”

Shougo was too drunk to try and shrug him off. Over the past month he had spent either in a study, on horseback or aboard a ship with the Yellow Miracle, he had gotten used to the touchiness.

“How're ya not drunk?”, Shougo said and clutched his horn. “S'not fair!”

Ryouta laughed and patted his shoulder. The four weeks together had done a lot for their relationship – they weren't exactly friends, but they had taken a tentative first step in that direction. And when tipsy, Ryouta Kise was even more cheerful and touchy than usual.

“I can drink Aominecchi and Murasakibaracchi under the table, Shougo-kun! Even Akashicchi, if he ever accepts my challenge!”, he exclaimed gleefully and grinned. “Don't be sad!”

“M'not sad”, Shougo spat, but it came out far less intimidating than he had wanted it to. “M'pissed! At you!”

“At me?” Ryouta laughed once more and pressed a hand to his heart in mock shock. “Why, though? I won! Fair and square!”

Shougo huffed and pillowed his head on his crossed arms, groaning in misery. “I lost~”

“Yup! You definitely did!”

“Gimme sum waterrr~”

Ryouta smirked devilishly. “And have you sober up? No, no, no. Here, have some more wine, Shougo-kun?”

Shougo burped.

“Wahh! Shougo-kun, you brute!”, Ryouta sniffed and waved a hand in front of his nose. Something seemed to have caught his eye, because he suddenly froze. “Ne, why is Nijimuracchi looking so grumpy?”

Shougo looked at him in confusion. “Who?”

Ryouta rolled his eyes. “Nijimuracchi! Shuuzou Nijimura! Your mate! He looks like he want to kill someone!”

The younger man shrugged. “Dunno.”

“You know”, Ryouta said thoughtfully. “Aominecchi looks just like that when he's nearing his rut!”

Shougo choked on his own saliva at the Kaijori's comment. “What the fuck?! Why are ya telling me that, bastard?!”

“What?”, Ryouta said with a shrug. Then he tapped his cheek with a sheepish expression. “Ne, Shougo-kun. Can I ask you something?”

Shougo had his wine refilled. He had to be prepared for whatever question the shameless guy would ask. “Shoot.”

“It's kind of embarrassing, though.”

“You're the most shameless guy I know!”, Shougo barked. “You literally told me how good it feels when Daiki is deepthroating you and practiced with a fucking cucumber while I was in the same room, pervert! Shoot, for fuck's sake! Nothing can be worse than having to watch you shove a vegetable down your throat while moaning like a whore faking it!”

Ryouta giggled. “Oh right, that. Uhm, okay. Does a knot hurt? Or... does it feel good like everyone claims?”

Luckily, Shougo was drunk enough to not choke when he heard that kind of question. Instead, he just hiccupped. Deciding to be honest with his somehow-friend, Shougo shrugged. “Dunno.”

Ryouta's brows furrowed. “What do you mean, you don't know?”

“Jus' what I said”, Shougo grumbled. “Haven't spent a cycle with him yet so no knot.”

“Huh? Really? You've been married for what, five months?”

Shougo nodded, but it made him dizzy and he fell off the bench. 

Ryouta immediately jumped to his feet with a cry of “Shougo-kun!”.

The younger man grinned when various people bowed over him to see if he was alright and oh, that was funny, there had to be lots and lots of twins and triplets present at the solstice feast. Shougo burst into a fit of giggles and Ryouta's worried expression shifted to downright alarmed.

“Nijimuracchi!”, he cried. “Shougo-kun is going insane!”

Someone crouched next to him and Shougo smelled the familiar scent of a morning after a night of rain on the meadows and stretched his arms out.

“Niji~”, he slurred and giggled. Even his arms were swaying. “Pick me up~”

His husband sighed and manoeuvred him into a sitting position. “You've had enough wine for tonight.”

“Nahhhh”, Shougo drawled and waved at one of the servants. “Oi, you! Bri'mme some wine!”

The servant looked at Nijimura who shook his head. “No more wine or any alcohol for him.”

“Aw, Niji~! Dun be sucha fuckin' party pooper!”

Nijimura hoisted his limp and giggling husband up and gave the surrounding crowned a polite smile. “I think my mate and I will retreat for the night. If you'll excuse us.”

Shougo flailed and almost brought both of them down. “Ryou~ta~! Let's drink again sumtime!”

Ryouta laughed. “Get him to sober up, Nijimuracchi!”

Shougo burst into laughter and nuzzled his husband's neck. “Soberin' up's waaaay to overrated, dontcha think?”

Nijimura patted his hair and heaved him into a carriage despite Shougo's protests and exclamations of being fully capable of returning on horseback. “Of course, punk. And you're probably not even drunk anyway, right?”

Shougo giggled. “Nah, 'm jus' a teeny-bitsy tipsy. Heh, that rhymed!”

Nijimura gave him a lopsided smirk. “You should consider writing poetry, Haizaki.”

The younger man's eyes widened almost comically before he burst out laughing again until he was crying and gasping for breath. He didn't notice Nijimura's fond, exasperated look.

“Maaaaan, Niji, ya're a waaay cooler dude than people think ya're.”

Nijimura smirked in amusement. “Thanks.”

Shougo nodded enthusiastically. “Like, reaaaally. Ya can fight 'lmost on par with Ryou~ta~ and the Mi'acles and ya're smart 'nd hot as fuck-”

Nijimura cocked his head and felt his smirk widening. “You think I'm hot?”

Shougo snorted. “'S ovvious. Half Teiko wanna get in ya pants.” He gestured to Nijimura's crotch and then grinned predatory. “'S only me who can, though. Heh.”

“You sound proud.”

“Nah~”, Shougo dralwed and lazily propped up his legs on Nijimura's lap. “Jus' smug.”

The carriage came to a halt and Nijimura towed Shougo out of it with a huff.

“You're heavier than you look, you know that, punk?”, he grumbled and waved a servant offering help off. 

“'S all mus'le”, Shougo slurred and swore when he tripped over his own feet, almost bringing Nijimura down with him. “Fucking hells, that bloody root jus' showed up outta nowhere!”

Nijimura decided not to tell him that there hadn't been a root since they were inside the Keep already. 

“Niji, wanna sing a song~?”, he asked, shot Nijimura a lopsided smirk and wiggled his eyebrows. Despite being obviously drunk off his ass, Shougo somehow managed to look half-way hot. The other half was just looking ridiculous.

“Sure”, Nijimura said with a grin and gently steered his stumbling mate into the right hallway.

“Ya cool dude!”, Shougo exclaimed and licked his thumb before thrusting his fist up in the air. “Sil'ers, sil'ers, princess' sil'ers! Stolen from 'round her neck! Revenge she wan's, revenge she ge's, run, noble thief, she'll get'em back!”

It was not even remotely in tune and Shougo swallowed way too many syllables, but Nijimura laughed and joined in. 

The guards gave them an amused look (even though they tried to hide it) and opened the doors to their chambers for them. 

Shougo was ull out cackling by then, breath wheezing and eyes watering, when Nijimura dumped him on the big bed and patted his hip. 

“There. How about you go to sleep?”

Shougo rolled around, wrapped his arms around Nijimura's waist and let his hand travel south.

Nijimura froze and rapidly pried his husband off him when the younger man pressed the heel of his hand against his crotch.

“No way”, he said and cleared his throat when his voice came out hoarse. “You're completely hammered, Haizaki.”

Shougo rolled onto back and groaned. “Maaaan, Niji, 'm soooo frus'rated! I need it~”

Nijimura's stomach flipped and shit, if Haizaki wasn't drunk, he'd be on top of him kissing him senseless in a matter of seconds. But the Pillager was hopelessly wasted and his words were fucking Nijimura up.

“You wouldn't even be able to get it up, you're too intoxicated”, he said with a scoff.

Shougo shot him a sly, seductive grin and opened his legs a bit. “Not true. Wanna check?”

Gods be damned, he was actually blushing. Nijimura tried to will the heat from his cheeks and opted to throw his pillow at his mate's face. “Go to sleep. Pervert.”

Then he climbed off the bed and made his way into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him and leaning against the wood.

He exhaled shakily.

This was bad.


	23. The Revelation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's late? Yeah. It me. Sorry.
> 
> But first of all! The amount of love and feedback is still amazing and it's encouraging me so much in my writing, so thank you to: treywantsdatass, 2whitewolfalpha6, Raisa+Islam, eurekaseven, tenshi_04, HollyWoodFix, Nekoshi, Ai_and_August_19, Neko0707, Redacka, SherryenaQiran, hella_fujoshi, cake, 27thSky, robo123 and Boom! Y'all are so awesome and I love you~

Shougo woke up and immediately assumed that he had died and passed into the Realm Beyond. Or rather, into the Fifth Hell, because saying that he was miserable would be the understatement of the millenium. 

“Oh, you're alive.”

Shougo groaned and rolled over. Gods, his head felt like the whole royal cavalry was trampling on it and shit, he was nauseous. Any sudden movement would cause his stomach to empty its contents, he just _knew_ it.

Someone chuckled next to him and put a cool, wet cloth over his burning eyes. “Come on. You have to be aboard the _Sweet Hikaru_ in a few hours, remember?”

No, Shougo didn't _Sweet Hikaru_? Wasn't that Ryouta's ship? What the fuck was he supposed to be doing on the blond puppy's ship?

“No”, he croaked and his voice was so fucked up. What had he done yesterday, for fuck's sake?!

He carefully lifted the cloth and was grateful to see that the curtains were still drawn shut. Next to him on the bad sat his husband, already bathed and dressed, with a cup of water in his hands.

“Do you even remember anything at all?”, Nijimura asked, disbelief and amusement evident in his voice. But there was a strange sort of curiosity in his eyes that Shougo couldn't quite place.

“Shuddup”, he muttered and brought the cup to his dry lips, greedily gulping down the water.

“You had a drinking competition with Kise and lost epically. He's already bouncing around the Keep again while you're here, dying and rotting in our bed.”

'Fucking Goldie', Shougo thought darkly and laid back with a grunt.

“Oh”, Nijimura added with a smug grin. “I almost forgot. You hollered _Princess' Silvers_ horribly out of tune through the whole palace.”

Shougo frowned underneath the cloth over his eyes. “Hell nah. You're makin' that one up.”

Nijimura chuckled. “Ask the guards. You surely impressed them with your musical talent last night. Have you ever considered becoming a singer? Or a bard?”

“Ya sarcastic li'l shit”, Shougo growled and lifted the cup once more only to find it empty already.

“Here, give me that.” Nijimura took the cup from his hands and Shougo heard it being refilled. “I'll ask a physician to get you something to milden the hangover's symptopms, alright?”

Shougo muttered a quick “thanks”, briefly wondering why Nijimura was being so kind this morning.

“It's almost noon, so you probably should get up as soon as the medicine kicks in”, Nijimura continued. “You have to pack and prepare, you're leaving for Blue Peak with Kise in three hours. Can you get ready till then?”

Shougo lifted the cloth again and scowled at the other man. “The fuck? Blue Peak? What are you talkin' about?”

Nijimura sighed. “If I didn't want you puking on the bed, I'd probably slap you up the head right now. You really don't remember anyhing, drunkard.”

His offended “Oi!” came out rather weak.

“You're sailing to Blue Peak with Kise to help with his wedding and inspect Touou's fleet”, the crown prince said and Shougo opened his mouth to brusquely refuse – no way was he hanging around Daiki and Ryouta being gross – but he was cut off: “Actually, though, you're leaving so you're not around for my rut.”

Shougo choked on the water he had stupidly decided to nip on just now. He started coughing violently and shit, his head did not like that, nope, not at all.

“Fuck”, he croaked and his stomach turned. He felt bile rising in his throat and barely managed to bend over the edge of the bed before greeting last night's meal again. 

Well.

More like last night's wine.

“You're fucking gross”, Nijimura said, but somehow, it didn't sound as malicious as usual. A hand came up to rub his back while he gagged.

“Love you too”, Shougo grumbled, throat sore, and tried to get up. The smell of vomit was making him sick again.

“I can already see you falling flat on your face, Haizaki.”

Shougo shot him an angry look and threw the wet cloth at his husband, who dodged the missile and gave him a devilish grin.

“If you weren't hungover, you'd be dead by now.”

Shougo snorted and staggered in the bathroom's direction. “Hah. Never thought I'd be thankful for a fucking hangover.”

 

–

 

Alright, maybe Kise didn't despise Haizaki as much as he did before working with him (against his will, but that wasn't important now). Nowadays, he tolerated him, but he most certainly did not want him interfering with what was supposed to be the happiest day of his life.

“Nijimuracchi!”, he whined and batted his eyelashes, putting on his best puppy look. “Please don't send Shougo-kun with me! I can inspect Touou's fleet very well in my own!”

Shuuzou rolled his eyes and sighed. “No, Kise. I told you, he's coming with you. That's the end of the discussion.”

Kise threw his head back. “But why~? I don't want Shougo-kun meddling with my wedding or disrupting my precious time with Aominecchi!”

“I'm gonna stay away as far as I possibly can from you two fucking oversexual lovebirds”, Haizaki snarled while servants brought his luggage on board of the _Sweet Hikaru._ “You're making me sick with your _Aominecchi~_!”

He pitched his voice higher and mockingly batted his eyelashes with a fake pout. 

Kise gasped. “I do not sound like that!”

“Yes, you do!”

“Do not!”

“Oh, for the gods' sake, stop it!”, Shuuzou snapped and the two men stopped their childish quarrelling. “Kise, this is indisputable. H- Shougo is coming with you and that's an order from your acting regent. Is that clear?”

Kise pressed his lips together and bowed. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“And quit the formal talk, you're my foster brother, holy crap”, Shuuzou said and flicked the blond's forehead. “I'm coming to your wedding, so I expect a breathtaking feast, alright?”

Kise's face lit up like the sun and if he was a dog, he probably would have wagged his tail. “It's gonna be the greatest feast ever, Nijimuracchi! Promise!”

Shuuzou grinned and ruffled his silky blind hair. “Good. Now get on that ship, you overgrown puppy.”

Kise turnedd and cocked his head in confusion when he saw Haizaki boarding the ship. “Isn't that Shougo-kun?”

Shuuzou huffed and crossed his arms. “This ugly hairstyle is unmistakably his.”

“You haven't even said goodbye to each other!”, Kise yelped and waved his arms. “What if we get into a storm and die?!”

“Kise. Don't be ridiculous.”

“Huh?! I'm not! So mean~”

Shuuzou sighed. 'Guess it can't be helped. It would look weird if we don't say goodbye.'

He took a deep breath and called: “Oi, Shougo! Come back for a sec!”

The black-haired knight turned on the plank leading up the ship with a sneer. “Why?!”

“Just, c'mon!”

Haizaki swore and stomped back. “The fuck do you want _now?_ ”

Shuuzou rolled his eyes, took Haizaki's wirst and chastely brushed his lips against the Omega's cheek. “Take care, punk.”

It came out much softer than expected and Shuuzou wanted to wrap his arms around the stubborn brat and tell him this over and over again.

When he pulled back, Haizaki stared at him with wide eyes filled with confusion and surprise, his cheeks dusted with pink.

Shuuzou patted his head (these cornrows really were horrible) and gave him a lopsided smirk. “But it's a ship, so I don't think you'll be in trouble or something. The sea's your territory, right?”

That seemed to wake Haizaki up, because he blinked and a wide grin spread across his face, making Shuuzou's stomach flip and tingle. So unlike his usual sneers and arrogant smirks, this genuine and confident smile was infectious and soon enough, Shuuzou's own smile lit up his whole face.

“Don't ya ruin the kingdom without my wise advice”, Haizaki said and his silver eyes glinted with mishief despite his hangover.

Gods, Shuuzou wanted to hug him right there and not let him go. Was it his oncoming rut influencing him? Possibly, but he somehow felt like that was not the case.

“Wise advice, my ass”, Shuuzou said with laughter in his voice and gave Haizaki a nudge. “Get on that ship, dumbass.”

Haizaki flipped him off, but he was still grinning when he went back aboard the ship that would carry him and Kise to Touou.

Shuuzou swallowed a lump in his throat. Weird. He felt like he was going to genuinely miss the punk.

 

–

 

Touou was a harsh land to live in. Its searing hot summers and bitterly cold winters were hard for foreigners to deal with. It was mostly mountainside and therefore hard to conquer – Blue Peak, high up in the mountains, carved into stone, was impregnable.

It would be Ryouta's home soon enough. 

After sailing for about a week, _Sweet Hikaru_ had anchored at the foot of the Indigo Mountains and her passengers proceeded their voyage to the seat of House Aomine on horseback.

Ryouta wrapped the thick scarf around his neck once more so that it covered his ears and nose as well. The mountains had shielded them from the whistling, cruel winds when they had ridden through Takuya's Canyon, but up here, few mountains were high enough to protect them and they were hit by almost the full force of Blue Peak's winter winds.

They had to ride at an incredibly slow pace as well because the paths were covered with snow and it was hard to see possible ice beneath it. Three horses had broken a leg already and had to be killed to spare them further agony.

Ryouta winced when his own mount, the sand-coloured mare named Taiyoko, slithered and whinnied in panic, but managed to get solid ground under her hooves again quickly enough.

“Good girl”, he murmured and rubbed her neck reassuringly. The horse huffed in distress.

“Oi, Ryou~ta~! How long until we reach the fucking castle?!”

Unfortunately, Haizaki was neither familiar with tououan climate nor with the way up to Blue Peak. Which meant he had been complaining and swearing ever since they left Takuya's Canyon. And even Ryouta's patience was wearing thin by now.

“Soon enough!”, he called and directed his gaze to the highest of the mountains in the Indigos – Blue Peak. It wasn't very far away, maybe two more hours. The guide leading them had taken the shortest, safest route possible.

“What'ya mean, soon enough?”, Haizaki shouted and his voice echoed from the stone around them. 

The guide stopped his mount, a mule, and waited until Haizaki on his dapple grey had caught up.

“Your Highness”, he said. “You will set off an avalanche if you keep on shouting like this.”

Haizaki glared at the poor man, but apparently even the Pillager didn't want to be buried beneath tons of snow and he shut his mouth.

The sun was starting to set when they finally reached the massive stone gates of Blue Peak, a fortress carved into the mountain.

Ryouta was shivering even beneath his layers of clothes and cloaks – after sunset, the bit of warmth had left the travellers with clattering teeth.

“Who demands entry to Blue Peak?”, a guard shouted from the massive watchtower.

“Ser Ryouta Kise of Goldhaven and his delegation!”, the guide shouted back up, the guard gave a sign and the stone gate groaned when it was opened. The heavy iron portcullis was pulled up and the freezing men and women passed into the dark yard illuminated by torches.

Immediately, stableboys came running to take care of the horses and mules, servants scrambled around trying to tend to the arriving's needs, but Ryouta only looked for one face.

“Ki-chan!”

Ryouta's face lit up and he beamed at his foster sister. “Momoicchi!”

Momoi wore a beautiful mint and pink dress, her house's colours, and was wrapped into a giant beige fur cloak to keep her warm inside the mountain. Her pink hair flowed freely over her shoulders and her eyes were shining with glee.

“It's so good to see you again”, she exclaimed and kissed him on both cheeks, having to stand on her tip-toes to reach him.

Ryouta laughed. “It is! But don't you have business in Crownwell?”

Momoi waved him off. “Acchan and Micchan can take care of that for a while. I wouldn't miss Dai-chan and Ki-chan getting married for anything in the world!”

“Speaking of Aominecchi.” Ryouta looked around, but he couldn't spot his fiancé. “Where is he?”

Momoi sighed. “He's sleeping. I tried to wake him, but he told me he'd be there for the banquet.”

Ryouta pouted. “He's not coming to greet me? I'm his future husband!”

Momoi giggled and hooked her arm into Ryouta's. “Aw, but you know him! Dai-chan needs his 20 hours of beauty sleep a day! He really is a giant cat. No wonder House Aomine's sigil is a panther.”

“Beauty sleep?”, Haizaki snarled behind them and cackled. “That's useless effort on Daiki's ugly mug.”

Momoi's face fell. “Haizaki-kun?”

The Pillager grimaced. “Satsuki.”

Ryouta turned towards him with a cold look. “Shougo-kun, if you don't have anything better to do, why don't _you_ go get some beauty sleep? I think four years should be enough for us to be able to look at you without cringing.”

Haizaki sneered and made an obscene gesture in his direction before stomping off into the fortress. 

“I still don't get why he's here”, Ryouta grumbled unhappily and followed Momoi into the stone hallways of Blue Peak. “Why is Nijimuracchi doing this?”

Momoi smiled. “It's obvious, Ki-chan.”

“Well, not to me!”

The Beta lead him into his chambers in the east wing where she also resided. 

“Sit”, she instructed once the doors were closed behind him and pointed to one of the divans. Ryouta did as he was told.

Momoi brushed her hair back. “You see, Ki-chan, I was quite suspicious when Nijimura-san spontaneously decided to take a ship back from Sayuri's tourney and stop at Masaru's Tower for 'inspections'.”

Ryouta cocked his head and gratefully accepted the cup of mulled wine Momoi offered to him. The heat of it warmed him up from within. “What's suspicious about that? Masaru's Tower must have been a ruin. No one's really been there since Masaru's suicide.”

“It was in dire need of reparations, yes. But isn't it unusual for Nijimura-san to leave the inspections to Haizaki-kun and leave as soon as possible for Shadowhall?”

Ryouta frowned. “Where are you going with this?”

Momoi smiled and it sent a shiver down his spine. “Haizaki-kun went into heat a few days after Nijimura-san had left the Tower. There wasn't enough time to turn around and be with him, so Haizaki-kun went through it on his own. And now, according to my data, Nijimura-san's rut is due. Can't you draw the conclusion yourself, Ki-chan? They are avoiding each other's Mating Cycles on purpose.”

Ryouta propped his chin up on his fist and scowled. “You think so, Momoicchi? They have been married for almost half a year.”

Momoi hummed. “Yes. And yet, Haizaki-kun is still a virgin.”

The Golden Knight almost dropped his cup. “S-shougo-kun?! A virgin?! Momoicchi, don't be ridiculous!”

“He is, though. As a man, not anymore, but as an Omega, he is still maiden.” Momoi swirled the wine in her cup. “I have my little birds everywhere and one of them happens to be a trainee healer who assisted Healer Kasumi when Haizaki-kun suffered from particularly bad post-heat cramps.”

Ryouta grimaced. He hated these examinations, he was pretty sure everyone did. And he had never wanted to know so much about Haizaki's and Nijimura's love life. Or lack thereof.

“My bird chirped that Haizaki-kun is still maiden. Not only has he never been knotted-”

Ryouta choked on his wine.

“-no. The marriage is unconsummated. They may be mates and share a bond, but they are not _husbands._ Their marriage is incomplete and therefore not valid.”

“W-wait”, Ryouta stuttered, realisation dawning on him. “So- so Shougo-kun ist not Nijimuracchi's husband, but his- his mated paramour? Isn't that illegal?”

Momoi nodded, expression going dark. “Yes. It's an ancient law, barely known anymore, passed by King Isamu I, the second monarch of Teiko. It applies only to members of the royal family. It was first made use of when his granddaughter, his son Takeshi's heiress Princess Chouko mated with her paramour instead of with her wife. The paramour lost his head for it, Chouko was stripped off her titles and claims. Her younger sister Princess Noriko became queen in her stead after Isamu's and Takeshi's death.”

Ryouta felt dread settling in his stomach. “If this became public, then...”

Momoi nodded once more. “Yes. Since the law is still in action, Nijimura-san, as the royal, would be stripped off his claims and titles. Prince Ken would become king once King Takeshi dies. Haizaki-kun, as the paramour, would be executed. Undoubtedly, Fukuda Sogo would lean up against the crown once more and knowing Prince Ken with his hatred for the islanders, he'd smash them down in his wrath, blaming them for his brother's fate. It could lead to a new civil war.”

“But how can Shougo-kun even be a paramour if they haven't slept together?!”, Ryouta asked.

“The point is that he wears Nijimura-san's Mating Mark, but they are not married since the ceremony was never completed due to lack of consummation”, Momoi explained and looked down, eyes sad. “Haizaki-kun is his mate, but not his husband. In the legal sense, that makes him a mated paramour. The Mark is the deciding point. If he didn't wear the Mark, there would be no problems. A simple paramour is permitted and entirely legal. But a _mated_ paramour is not. The law is ancient and should have been abolished long ago, but it has been in action twice: with Princess Chouko and with a distant relative of King Yuzuru.”

Ryouta jumped to his feet, eyes wide in disbelief. Impulsive Prince Ken on the throne instead of Nijimura? Haizaki executed? His stomach churned at the thought. He still didn't like Haizaki per se, but the days of wanting to see him dead were over.

“Momoicchi-! If some one finds out-! You mustn't tell anyone!”

Momoi looked up at him, eyes watering. “I know, Ki-chan. I know. But the healer who examined Haizaki-kun was a spy as well and not one of mine.”

Ryouta's blood ran cold and he grabbed the armrest of the divan. “Momoicchi... don't tell me...”

“Yes”, she said quietly. “Healer Kasumi was a spy of Makoto Hanamiya. The Spider of Kirisaki knows.”


	24. Blue Peak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really tired rn so I'll have to forgo the traditional notes, but thank you for all of your support and comments on the last chapter! I love you! <3

Ryouta wanted nothing more than a hot bath, a change of clothes and the warmth and softness of a bed. Instead, maids pushed him into a thick woolen undershirt, an even thicker tunic, a midnight blue doublet, woolen pants and leather boots lined with fur. If there was one disadvantage about living in the impregnable fortress that was Blue Peak, it most certainly would be the biting cold in the winters.

Ryouta felt like an onion.

“Momoicchi, are all these layers really necessary?”, he whined. He already felt hot. How was he supposed to make it through dinner without sweating through all the fabric? He couldn't sit stinking at the High Table, could he?!

Momoi gave him a pitying look. “You're going to thank me for having them put on you, Ki-chan! You're a southerner from Kaijo who's not even remotely used to the cold of Blue Peak in winter!”

Ryouta pouted. “I've been to Yosen and Touou before, Momoicchi. I can handle a bit of cold – so I'll forgo the fur cloak.”

Momoi raised a finger. “Don't you get sick, though! You don't want to get married with a snotty nose and a fever, do you?”

He laughed, but shuddered internally at the thought. No, he wanted to have a nice wedding where he would sing and dance and drink and kiss Aomine all day long. 

Someone knocked on the door and the guard outside spoke: “Lady Aomine, Mylord, Mylady.”

Momoi squealed and hurriedly ran her fingers through Ryouta's hair once more before the door opened to reveal the Lady of Blue Peak.

Masuyo Aomine was a tall and strong Alpha woman with tanned skin, long, black hair reaching her hips and navy blue eyes. Everything about her, from her posture to her look, screamed authority and Ryouta knew for a fact that Masuyo Aomine was at least as strong and powerful as her husband and her son.

The maids immediately curtsied, Ryouta hurriedly bowed and Momoi gave the woman who was like another mother to her a warm smile.

“Satsuki, this is a surprise. I thought you would be busy waking Daiki, the sloth”, Masuyo said and strode in, a regal smile gracing her lips.

“Ah, I did that already. He was getting dragged into the bathroom when I left”, Momoi said with a devilishly angelic smile.

“That boy”, Masuyo exclaimed exasperatedly and then waved. “Rise. Ryouta, it has been a while. The betrothal festivity, wasn't it?”

Ryouta gave her a charming smile. “Yes. You look radiant, Mylady.”

Masuyo looked amused. “Do I know? Why, thank you. You certainly know how to flatter a woman, Ryouta. I'm not sure if that will be useful with Daiki.”

“I assure you, I can charm Aominecchi out of his pants just as well”, Ryouta said with a cheeky grin and Momoi giggled.

“I don't doubt that. He's infatuated with you”, the Lady of Blue Peak said with a look of fondness on her face. “Now then. Shall we go?”

 

–

 

The dinner was held at the giant main hall, the highest hall carved into the mountain with a ceiling height of eight metres. Massive iron chandeliers hung from the ceiling and illuminated the hall dimly in addition to the many torches at the walls and the candles on the tables.

Only few of the long tablets were occupied, but Ryouta's gaze was directed towards the High Table at the head of the hall.

On a massive stone chair, more like a throne, really, which was covered with furs, sat Katashi Aomine, Lord of Blue Peak. His skin was lighter than his wife's and son's, going more into a bronze, his hair was the dark navy blue Daiki had inherited. Katashi Aomine was a quiet, stern man unless angered. His expression was a dark one, watching his court have their meals with him. His eyes were a dark violet, the only remainder of his distant Murasakibara heritage.

Haizaki was seated at the far end of the High Table and he seemed to be quite content there. Ryouta swallowed the lump in his throat when he glanced at the purple Mating Mark at the Pillager's nape.

The Mark that made him illegal, that made him a breaker of the law, that could have him executed if that information got into the wrong hands. Which it did. Ryouta forced himself to look away. Hanamiya hadn't acted on his knowledge yet, there was nothing to fear... yet. Hanamiya was a spider and therefore he could wait for a long, long while before capturing and killing his prey.

Ryouta swallowed the nausea down and put on a charming smile that immediately morphed into a happy, genuine one when he spotted his fiancé on the seat next to Katashi's. He wanted to run and tackle-hug him, but protocol (and common sense) dictated that the lord of the castle had to be greeted first. And the whole court was watching, it ws probably better not to cling to the heir of Blue Peak and squeal in delight.

He bowed appropriately before his future father-in-law and said: “Thank you for having me and my delegation, Lord Aomine. I am truly grateful.”

“Rise”, Katashi's gruff voice said and Ryouta did as he was told. “You've had a safe journey?”

The blond knight nodded. “Yes, Mylord. There were no complications at all.”

Katashi jerked his head in a quick nod. “Good. Sit.”

Ryouta walked around the table and purposefully sat on the wooden chair next to his fiancé.

“Hey”, the Alpha said, his voice still rough with sleep, but his eyes gleaming. “Thought you'd never show up.”

Ryouta playfully nudged him. “Aominecchi, I'm flabbergasted! You were the one who didn't come to greet me!”

Aomine shrugged and refilled his cup. “Couldn't sleep the night before, so I really had to take a nap.”

Ryouta laughed and caught Aomine looking at him in awe from the corner of his eye. “A nap is more important than your fiancé? Aominecchi, is that a good way to start our marriage?”

Aomine flicked his cheek, turned back to his food and grumbled with reddening ears: “We're not married yet, idiot.”

Then his face suddenly darkened. “Also, mind explaining why exactly fucking Haizaki's here?”

Ryouta barely managed to not choke on his wine. Instead, he coughed lightly and tried to maintain an expression that did not betray his worry. 

“Who knows”, he said and shrugged. _He did._ “Apparently, he's to help us with the wedding and inspect your fleet?”

Aomine snorted. “Bullshit. What the hell is Nijimura thinking?”

Ryouta bit his lip. Could he tell him? No, what was he thinking, this was Aomine, his old foster brother, the guy he had known since he was six years old. He could be a jerk from time to time but he would not get his former foster siblings into trouble.

“Let's talk after dinner, alright?”, he said quietly and Aomine shot him a weary look, but did not object.

 

–

 

Shuuzou thought he was dying. He had never had a rut this bad. 

His Mating Mark was pulsating incessantly like a second heartbeat and whenever he touched it, it flared even hotter and hurt. 

Shuuzou was three days into his cycle, only one more day and it would be over. He only had to make it through one more day. The first two waves of his rut had been uncomfortable, but still tolerable. But now it was downright agony.

Usually, both male and female Alphas bought the services of whores specialised in rut in order to satsify them during their cycles, but Shuuzou had never done that ever since he was engaged to Haizaki. His father had been very adamant about the importance of staying monogamous and faithful in a marriage or courtship and Shuuzou knew for a fact that his father had taught the Miracles the same thing while they were at court for fostering.

And just the thought of having someone with him right now who didn't wear his Mark was incredibly repulsing and wrong. All his fantasies revolved around a scent of crisp ocean breezes, flushed pale cheeks, cocky grin morphing into the shape of an o with shaky exhales, choked off moans, muscular limbs, toned muscles and glazed over silver eyes. 

Shuuzou's legs were trembling and his abdominals were cramping and twitching. He hurt, he was sore and even though he was so sensitive that even the touch of a sheet hurt, his manhood demanded his undivided attention.

He had lost count of how many times his knot had swollen inside his fist, a poor stand-in for the tight heat he was yearning for, and he knew for sure that another one would hurt like hell.

“Shit”, he croaked and slammed his fist onto the bed when his fingers itched to grab himself once more. “I can't, I can't- fuck-”

The Mark at his nape throbbed in time with his dick and all of Shuuzou's instincts howled for his mate to hold him, to hold him, to soothe him.

“Please-” His voice was choked off when he wrapped his fingers around his cock once more, the touch more painful than pleasurable now. “Please, I can't- it hurts, shit- Shougo-!”

His hand was trembling and he wanted to pull it away, flinch away from his own fingers, because it _hurt_ , but he couldn't. His hand was moving on its own accord, wrist twisting and turning, fingers tightening until he felt his knot swelling once more. 

Shuuzou muffled a groan of pain, only barely laced with pleasure, tightened his fist to simulate the pressure of a mate's body, and came, hips jerking and streaks of come spurting onto his trembling stomach.

He fell back into the pillows, panting heavily and threw an arm across his eyes. Old tears of pain and pressure had tried on his cheeks and he could feel his eyes burning again.

'Shougo, Shougo, Shougo', his instincts were chanting, quieter for now, but they would flare back up soon enough. Maybe he'd even have enough time to get some sleep.

Shuuzou took a deep, shaky inhale. Had Haizaki suffered the same way during his heat? Was the saying that a mated heat spent alone was worse than anything not just a wet nurse's tale?

Suddenly, Shuuzou felt guilt gnawing at him for having put Haizaki through such a bad experience. For having them both put through it.

'Maybe one day', he thought and ran his clean hand through his sticky black hair. 'Maybe one day we will actually spend a cycle together. Maybe one day, we'll actually be a couple off screen as well.'

Shuuzou's chest contracted. Gods, he wanted to have that. He wanted to have the dumb puppy love of Kise and Aomine, the silent understanding of each other of Kagami and Kuroko, the deep affection and support for each other of Murasakibara and Himuo, the perfect, playful balance of Midorima and Takao, the unconditional dedication that Akashi and Mayuzumi showed each other.

He wanted it all and he wanted it with no one else but _Shougo._

He wanted to kiss him and hug him and laugh with him, because despite his bratty attitude, Shougo was fun. He wanted to practice with him, see Shougo grin at him with playful determination. He wanted to go hunting with him and take him to stupid festivals at Crownwell, gods, Shuuzou wanted to see him smile because of him.

He wanted it so badly.

Shuuzou's eyelids were getting heavy and within a few heartbeats, he was sound asleep until his rut would wake him up again.

 

–

 

Daiki stared at his fiancé in disbelief. 

“You're kidding me. There's a law like that?”

Kise shrugged. “Momoicchi said so. It must be true. She knows everything.”

“Fuck”, he cursed and ran a hand through his short, navy hair. “Gods be damned, I can't stand Haizaki, but even I don't want him to be executed because he didn't sleep with his husband, what the fuck! What kind of law is that?! Why does it even still exist!”

“I don't know!”, Kise called and threw his hands up. “I don't know, Aominecchi! What are we supposed to do?”

Daiki ran his hand through his hair once more and exhaled deeply. This was trouble. Hanamiya preferred not to act on his knowledge until it was beneficial to him and who knew when that would be?

“I don't know either”, he said darkly. “But whatever happens, us Miracles will try to stop it. We owe that much to Nijimura, for fuck's sake.”


	25. The Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience! This is late, but I hope you enjoy anyway :)  
> Hugs and kisses to treywantsdatass, eurekaseven, Ai_and_August_19, Redacka, Raisa+Islam, HollyWoodFix, SherryenaQiran, 2whitewolfalpha6, Annavict, 27thSky, hella_fujoshi, BrazilianRedPaladin, Qikdaelun, Neko0707 and Nekoshi! You guys seriously light up my world with your comments <3

Shougo awoke with a warm body pressed up to his side and an arm thrown over his waist. He almost made a grab for his dagger, because he remembered that he had definitely gone to bed alone, but luckily he recognised the sharp face and raven black hair before stabbing his husband.

So Nijimura had come just in time for the wedding. Probably arrived late at night and crawled into bed without bothering to wake Shougo – or being considerate enough to not wake him. Whichever it was, it had been the right choice. Shougo would have killed him for waking him in the middle of the night.

“Oi.” Shougo shoved at his husband's shoulder. Sure, the extra warmth was nice, but this was way too close to cuddling for his liking. “Nijimura. Wake up.”

Nijimura groaned in his sleep, tightened the arm around Shougo's waist and nuzzled into his neck. Shougo jolted when the warm breath hit his scent glands and shoved Nijimura with more force than necessary.

“Oi! Wake up, you fucking monkey!”

Nijimura cracked one eye open and brought the hand that had rested on Shougo's waist till now up to rub his eye. “Shougo...?”

Shougo rolled his eyes, not even noticing the use of his given name. “Wow, what a surprise, it's me. Move, you're heavy.”

“And tired”, Nijimura grumbled and fluttered his fingers in a dismissive gesture. “Lemme sleep, I rode almost all night to make it on time.”

Shougo mercilessly rolled Nijimura off him onto the cold side of the bed. “Sleep there, then!”

The older man let out a displeased sound. “You're cruel.”

“Yeah, but you know that, idiot”, Shougo said with a huff and slipped out of bed. “It's Ryouta's and Daiki's wedding day, so you should probably move your ass outta bed.”

Nijimura rolled over and rubbed his eyes with a long yawn. “Why're you up so early anyway?”

Shougo grimaced. “I got damned by Satsuki to help Ser Sissy prepare for his _big day._ ”

The crown prince peeked up at him and grinned. “So you're the bridesmaid? Gonna help him with his clothes, brush and braid each other's hair and gossip about-”

A pillow to the face suffocated his next words.

“You're way too happy today”, Shougo growled and rung the bell to call for Nobu. “Had a nice time jerking off in your rooms or what?”

Nijimura couldn't be bothered to remove the pillow from his face or snap back, so he just shot him a thumbs up.

Shougo scoffed. “Weirdo.”

Nijimura's voice was muffled when he replied: “That's _Your royal Weirdness_ , though.”

Shougo groaned in exasperation.

 

–

 

“Shougo-kun, finally!”

Shougo closed the door behind him and shrugged. “Be happy that I even bothered to show up.”

Ryouta shout him a blinding smile before turning back to the giant mirror. The Golden Knight stood on top of a wooden chest while servants bustled around, carrying parts of a golden armour. 

“Really?”, Shougo snorted. “A golden ceremonial armour?”

“I have a name to live up to, Shougo-kun~”, Ryouta sang and let the servants tighten the straps of his breastplate. “Ugh, can't breathe.”

“If you want to be pretty, you have to suffer”, Sayuri Kise said from her seat next to the mirror. The future Lady of Goldhaven was clad in a festive gown of white and blue with a heavy white fur cloak, her swollen belly barely seen beneath all these layers of clothes.

“I don't want to be pretty, sister”, Ryouta whined and grimaced when a servant tightened the straps of his breastplate with the engraved sun of House Kise again. “I want to be handsome!”

Sayuri scoffed. “That is almost the same thing, Ryouta.”

“I agree with your sister, Kise-kun.”

Ryouta and Shougo almost jumped three feet into the air.

“Tetsuya?!”  
“Kurokocchi?!”

The small blue-haired man bowed politely. “Good morning.”

Sayuri smiled and offered a hand which Tetsuya, being the polite Seirinese man he was, dutifully pressed a light kiss to. “Lord Tetsuya. What a pleasure to see you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Lady Sayuri”, Tetsuya said.

Tradition had it that only men and women of the same dynamic were allowed in the preparation rooms of the betrothed couple. As far as Shougo knew, Kagami, Nijimura and a load of other Alphas were with Daiki; he had heard them bickering from outside.

“Haizaki-kun, it has been a while. How are you faring?”, Tetsuya asked. The heir of Shadowhall was dressed in his husband's colours for once, the scarlet red of House Kagami. His fur cloak was so thick, he looked like a child in it, but Shougo knew for a fact that Tetsuya had too many knives hidden inside the folds of his clothing to be a child.

“So-so, I guess”, Shougo said with a shrug. He didn't really know why he was here, Omega or not, the servants prepared Ryouta, he just stood there and watched them, wasting his time. “You? And your son?”

“Fine, thank you. Takeru is growing every day.” The pride was evident in Tetsuya's voice.

A servant held up a blue and white cloak. “Mylord, your cloak?”

Ryouta sighed and stepped down from the small chair so that the servant could fasten the cloak with sun-shaped clasps at his shoulders. “So this is it, huh?”

Suddenly, the playful atmosphere in the room vanished and was replaced with a seriousness that Shougo did not like.

“Don't worry, Ryouta”, Sayuri said and gave her brother an encouraging smile. “Daiki-kun will take good care of you.”

Ryouta huffed and crossed his arms like a child while a maid fussed with his hair, brushing it back and rubbing scented oils in it. “I can take good care of myself, Sayuri.”

Tetsuya cocked his head. “Are you nervous, Kise-kun?”

The Golden Knight laughed, but it didn't sound quite as gleeful as usual. “M-maybe? I don't know, Kurokocchi. I'm just trembling a bit.”

“Man, you're so fucking nervous it makes me want to push you out of the window even more than usual”, Shougo snarled and crossed his arms. He was clad in rich navy and crimson robes that reminded him of his own weddings garments, and his leather cloak lined with fur was a bit too heavy for his liking. “You go out there and kneel, say some stupid holy vows that you could recite in your sleep because that's what the tutors beat into your head as soon as you can talk, then you exchange cloaks, kiss and that's it. Done. Don't make such a fuss, idiot.”

Ryouta's lips quirked up in a mischievous grin. “Aw, Shougo-kun. Trying to cheer me up?”

“What the fu- no! No way in hell! Asshole!”

“Haizaki-kun, please. There is a lady and an unborn child present.”

Shougo wanted to snap at Tetsuya that the baby in Sayuri Kise's belly wouldn't give two shits if he cursed or not, but he settled for flipping his friend off instead.

“Shougo-kun.” Ryouta's voice was quieter than before and it gave Shougo the creeps. “Maybe it was easy for you, because you hate your husband, but I love Aominecchi and I want this to be as perfect as possible for both of us.”

Shougo clenched his teeth. “Listen, dumbass, I don't hate Nijimura.”

Ryouta looked up in genuine surprise. “Wait, what? Really?”

“Of course not!”, the Pillager snapped. “I definitely hated him when I was fucking forced to marry him, but not anymore, alright?! Now get your damn hair done, Goldilocks! I'll be waiting in the church!”

Because honestly, how could he still hate Nijimura when the guy had done so much to make this shitty marriage a little bit more bearable for Shougo. The majority of Alphas would have forced the Mark, would have forced the wedding night and would have never given him the option of spending their cycles on their own. How could Shougo hate Nijimura when he had trusted him with so important tasks and genuinely believed that he could do it? Damn it, people respected Shougo as a fighter, not as a person – Nijimura was one of the first people to actually acknowledge him as a person, as a friend, not as a humanized weapon. 

Shougo clenched his hands to fists and stomped out of the room.

Damn it all. So he liked Nijimura. So what? Who cared? It wasn't like he was gonna fall to his knees and suck the other man's dick the next moment he saw him because of that realisation. Nijimura had become his friend and Shougo only had a handful of those. He sucked at friendship, alright, how Tetsuya still hung out with him was nothing short of a miracle, but he was determined to not fuck this up with Nijimura.

 

–

 

Blue Peak's chapel was about as freezing cold as the rest of the castle. Fires were lit in the dozen fireplaces embedded in the stone walls and various chandeliers and windows illuminated the hall as well as possible. 

Shuuzou was seated with House Aomine, clad in thick festive garments and wrapped in an even thicker fur cloak. Momoi sat next to him, Haizaki on his other side muttering about waiting for the damn Omega groom being fashionably late.

Aomine stood at the altar, looking fairly dashing in his polished, shining black armour with the midnight blue cloak fastened at his shoulders with clasps in the shape of panthers. His short hair wasn't particularly styled, only decently brushed and oiled for once, giving it a light shine. The Alpha was unconsciouly fiddling with the hem of his tunic peeking from beneath the black metal while he stared at the heavy oaken gates that would reveal Ryouta Kise any moment.

That moment was now. 

The gates creaked and opened and the hushed murmurs and laughter stopped at once when the Golden Knight strode in, led by his father Lord Yuudai Kise.The choir's voices filled the chapel, becoming one strong voice, and Shuuzou remembered the melody from his own wedding.

He smiled when he saw how Aomine immediately stopped playing with his tunic and just stared at his fiancé with the awe of a little boy. Kise looked drop dead gorgeous, of course, his golden armour shining in the dim lit chapel, but his smile was even brighter.

Shuuzou felt his chest tighten with affection for his two foster brothers, the two who were lucky enough to be assigned to marry the one they loved. He glanced at Haizaki to his right and couldn't help a fond smile tugging at his lips. 

'I don't regret agreeing to this marriage. Not anymore.'

Kise and his father arrived at the altar and Yuudai bowed to the Itsujosei performing the ceremony before taking his seat in the front rows.

The last note of the choir's prayers got lost in the hall and the betrothed couple fell to one knee before the Itsujosei who then gave a sign to the guests.

Armour rattles and robes rustled when they kneeled on the cushioned banks and clasped their hands. Shuuzou had been taught that the only time a king or queen kneeled was to their parents, to the gods and to their mate.

The Itsujosei, an elderly woman with a vitreous wreath resting on her greying hair, turned to Aomine.

“Daiki of House Aomine, you have stepped into the light of the Itsukami today to be wed by their godly laws.”

Shuuzou could see Aomine nodding.

“I beg the blessing of the Itsukami here in their holy lieu for my union with Ryouta of House Kise.”

The Itsujosei turned to Kise. “Ryouta of House Kise, you have stepped into the light of the Itsukami today to be wed by their godly laws.”

From where he kneeled, Shuuzou could spot the blond knight smile when he replied: “I beg the blessing of the Itsukami here in their holy lieu for my union with Daiki of House Aomine.”

“Rise!” The Itsujosei motioned for the couple to stand back up and so they did. “The gods have granted your union their ancient blessing. Unfasten your cloaks and lay them into the hands of the other.”

To Shuuzou's surprise, it was Aomine who fumbled with his clasps, receiving a gentle smile from his soon-to-be husband. When they exchanged the cloaks, he saw nothing but unrivaled adoration in their eyes, so unlike the desperation that had shone in Haizaki's on their own wedding day.

“Now recite the holy vows to pledge yourselves to one another.”

Aomine took Kise's hand and squeezed it slightly before they spoke.

“In the names of the five gods that give life, death, love, strength and honour”, they started, voices perfectly in synch and tune.

“I, Daiki Aomine”,  
“I, Ryouta Kise”,

“shall share home and life with this man until my eyes are closed for eternity and beyond. I take him to be mine and to be his, to take care of, to love and cherish him in the names of the Itsukami if so they wish.”

“And so they wish!”, the Itsujosei called and Shuuzou echoed the words on instinct alongside the other guests in the chapel.

'This is it, Kise, Aomine.'

“Now turn, Daiki of House Aomine and Ryouta of House Kise, fasten your cloaks and present yourselves as lawfully wedded in the light of the gods!”

Shuuzou's heart contracted when he saw that they were actually helping each other fasten their cloaks, chuckling and smiling while doing so. He glanced at Haizaki to his left, but the younger man didn't notice.

'So this is a wedding out of love?'

Tatsuya and Murasakibara, Kagami and Kuroko and Midorima and Takao had all married during the war, rather small ceremonies for the sons of High Lords of Teiko, but the war didn't leave them with any other choice. This was the first wedding of one of his foster siblings that Shuuzou attended.

The couple turned towards the crowd and Aomine grabbed Kise by the waist with a wicked grin and dipped him down before kissing him. Kise let out a noise of surprise, but melted into the kiss quickly enough and wrapped his arms around Aomine's shoulders for better leverage. The Itsujosei opened her arms and called: “I now proclaim you married in the eyes of gods and men!”

Shuuzou was one of the first to rise from his kneeling position and applaud and cheer for the newly wed couple. When they parted lips and Kise stood upright again, their cheeks were flushed and their eyes were sparkling with glee.

Shuuzou tried to remember when he had last seen Aomine this happy and found that it must have been before he left for Angeles.

He smiled softly and watched the couple walk down the aisle towards the gates. 

It was good to see them happy again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, merry christmas to everyone that celebrates it! And happy holidays to everyone who doesn't! :)


	26. The Feast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks go to Neko0707, Redacka, 2whitewolfalpha6, Scorus, SherryenaQiran, treywantsdatass, BrazilianRedPaladin, Boom, tenshi_04, Qikdaelun, Nekoshi, Annavict, hella_fujoshi, 27thSky, Ai_and_August_19, MiyaDe and HollyWoodFix :)  
> Wishing y'all the best for 2018 and use today to sober up, enjoy some fanfic and steel yourselves for whatever the new year brings :D

Daiki hadn't laughed this much in a long, long time.

As it was customary, the wedding feast had fifteen courses, five singers, twenty-five songs and dances. He had often wondered why there were more songs than food, but today, he didn't really mind.

“Aominecchi, come on, one more dance!”

And Kise had way too much stamina. Daiki found himself both dreading and looking forward to the wedding night.

“We danced way too much, Kise, let's grab something to eat”, Daiki wheezed. The last song had been particularly fast-paced and unfortunately, it had been one of Kise's absolute favourites. Needless to say, Daiki didn't want anyone but him dancing with _his_ husband to said husband's favourite song. He was actually feeling really warm, he almost broke a sweat – in winter at Blue Peak!

Kise pouted, but his golden eyes still sparkled with glee. “Fine~ let's eat, then!”

Daiki dropped into his seat and gulped down the wine in his goblet like water. His mother chuckled to his right.

“Slow down, Daiki. You do wish to perform tonight, don't you?”

Daiki almost choked on his wine, but only coughed and glared at his mother. Masuyo Aomine was a woman, yes, but an Alpha with a tendency for inappropriate jokes and innuendos. She also loved to embarrass her son way too much. “Mother!!”

Masuyo chuckled and sipped her own wine with a wink. “We've already had three courses. Your father will soon hold the speech and then-”

“I know what comes then”, Daiki called hurriedly. “I've been to weddings before!”

He was more nervous if one of them would get a cycle-inducing sweet – he knew, albeit involuntarily, that his mother had received such a sweet and that he had been conceived in his parents' wedding night. Too much information for Daiki.

Kise dropped into the seat next to him and unfastened his cloak. “Maaaan, I'm too warm! Aominecchi, aren't you too hot in your fur cloak?”

Daiki shrugged with a sly grin. “I'm always hot, so...”

Kise laughed and playfully slapped his shoulder before he spotted someone at the end of the hall. “Oh! Takao-kun! 'scuse me, Aominecchi, I haven't greeted him yet!”

And with these words, Kise was up and gone, squeezing through the dancing pairs to reach his friend. 

“Sheesh”, Daiki muttered, but a fond smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. If someone had told his six year old self that he would end up marrying his annoying, loud and hyperactive puppy-like foster brother, he would have burst out laughing and challenged them to a duel to prove his point.

“Aomine-kun.”

Daiki jumped so hard he almost fell off his chair with a rather shrill shriek. “Tetsu-!!”

Kuroko blinked up at him with big, blue eyes and bowed politely. “Good evening.”

The taller man pressed a hand to his hammering heart and tried to will its pace down. “Holy fuck- don't sneak up on me like that!”

“I wasn't sneaking up on you.”

“Yeah, right.”

“I wasn't. I have been here the whole time, Aomine-kun. You may ask your mother for confirmation.”

Masuyo took another sip of her wine and smiled. “He is right. We had a delightful conversation.”

Daiki glared at his mother. She and Tetsu got along way too well. They almost ensured relentless teasing.

“Anyway, 'sup?”, he said and leaned forwards, grinning at his friend. “Is Bakagami 'round here? He still owes me a duel.”

Kuroko pointed at the dancing crowd. “I'm afraid that Taiga-kun is dancing with his foster brother. Himuro-san.”

“Oh, Murasakibara's mate?” Daiki tried to spot the dark red hair of his rival, but there were too many people and he couldn't really be bothered to. “S'not like him, avoiding a good fight.”

“It's your wedding, Aomine-kun. The only bruises you should have are lovebites. Unless you are into, say, more kinkier pleasures.”

Masuyo snickered and Daiki shot both of them a flat look. Kuroko's ability to say such things with a straight face was truly admirable.

“Anyway.” Kuroko held out a hand. “A dance with a friend, Aomine-kun?”

Daiki mournfully looked at his pork in wine sauce. So much about eating. “Sure.”

He downed the rest of his wine and stepped around the table to lead his childhood friend to the dance floor. 

The musicians struck up _The Pirate's Merman_ , a popular song among sailors, probably requested by Kise or that bastard Haizaki. Their only shared passions were the marine, be it ships or songs, and fighting.

“Are you happy, Aomine-kun?”, Kuroko asked while following through the steps of the dance. 

Daiki's cheeks heated up and he thanked his dark skin for hiding the blush. “Sure am. That's normal when you get married, right?”

“Not always.” Kuroko jerked his head slightly to the left and Daiki's gaze followed the direction until he discovered Haizaki dancing with a random lord's daughter.

“What, you mean Nijimura and Haizaki?” Daiki frowned slightly, remembering what Kise had told him. He didn't particularly care about Haizaki, but Nijimura had been like a big brother to all of them and if Nijimura cared about Haizaki, so did he. “They get along well enough, don't they?”

If you ignored the biting remarks they still exchanged from time to time.

“That took time, Aomine-kun. They have been married for almost six months now and the beginnings of their marriage were worse than bumpy”, Kuroko continued. “You should be awar-”

“SHUUZOU, DOWN!”

Daiki whipped around at the shout to see Haizaki barrelling into his husband to bring him down, something silver flashing where Nijimura's head had been just a second ago. A servant behind them let out a gurgling scream when the crossbow bolt embedded itself in his throat, blood spurting out of the wound.

The guests started screaming. 

“GUARDS!”, Katashi Aomine roared and suddenly, every guard in the hall moved.

Daiki grabbed a nearby sword without thinking twice and ran to protect his prince, shoving other guests out of the way. Murasakibara towered there already, a guard's shield in his hand to deflect any other attacks while Midorima had an arrow nocked in the bow he always carried around with him, no matter where.

“There!”, Kise shouted, grabbed a knife and hauled it at a silhouette in the dark shadows of the balustrade. The figure dodged the knife, moved their arm and another crossbow bolt came flying, missing Kise by just a hair's width.

Daiki whirled around. “RYOUTA!”

“Guards!”, Masuyo yelled. “Up there!”

The guests on the balustrade screamed in horror and tried to escape the attacker, blocking the staircases.

“Don't they see that they're blocking the guards?!”, Haizaki barked, still shielding Nijimura with his own body. “Oi, Shintarou! Shoot that bastard already!”

“I can't land a clean shot!”, the Green Miracle hissed. “I'm not confident of hitting my targ-”

Akashi climbed on the table, yanked the spear out of a petrified guard's hand. A short glance was sufficient for Mayuzumi and Kuroko to understand.

Knives went flying with deadly precision and the attacker screamed when they weren't able to dodge two of the blades. Akashi steeled his shoulder to haul the spear for the final blow when Nijimura, still holding his head where it had collided with the ground, shouted: “No, Akashi! Don't! I want them alive!”

Akashi's eyes narrowed and he changed his aim, the spear ramming into the wooden beam next to the attacker, the tip grazing their cheek and ripping the skin there. Midorima let an arrow loose and the weapon hit the attacker's leg, making them collapse with a yelp of pain.

“Aominecchi!”

Daiki almost tumbled over when his husband tackle-hugged him from the side. “Kise-!”

“Are you alright?!” The Omega's eyes were wide with worry and fury alike.

“I'm fine, damnit, what about you?! You were the one who almost got a bolt to the eye!”, Daiki snarled and cradled Kise's head. “Shit! Are you trying to get killed on our wedding day?!”

“Aominecchi was the one recklessly running in to protect Nijimuracchi! I dodged, it's fine-”

“Nothing is fine!”, the usually quiet voice of Katashi Aomine boomed. Daiki turned to see his father marching over, expression as dark as during the war. “No one leaves this hall until the guards have searched the whole fortress for other attackers. Prince Shuuzou-”

“Nothing happened, Lord Aomine”, Nijimura said and sat up carefully, wincing when he touched the back of his head. “A lump, no more. Shougo-”

Haizaki was standing despite the blood trickling down his cheek where the attacker's crossbow bolt had grazed him before killing the servant behind him. “Just a scratch. Fucking hells.”

Daiki couldn't help but admire Haizaki's quick reflexes. To realise, process, move and shout at almost the same time seemed almost surreal. At least for people that weren't him. Maybe it was a mate-thing? But Haizaki had been just as fast as him just now; could it be that the Pillager overcame the obstacle of being unable to copy the Miracles' movements just like Kise had?

“Guards”, Katashi spoke up, eyes narrowed at the crown prince's consort. “Seize Prince Shougo. He is under arrest for possible collaboration-”

“Huh?!”, Daiki called. “Father, what-!”

“Silence, Daiki!”, Katashi snapped and Daiki didn't have the power to go up against his father's authority and dominating pheromones in front of his whole court and most of Teiko's nobility. “This reaction was inhuman. Prince Shougo must have known-”

“What the fuck!”, Haizaki snarled and Nijimura swayed next to him. “Why would I try to fucking kill myself by jumping in the way, huh, if it had been my plan?! That's just stupid! Did you get brain freeze in your ass freezing fortress, Aomine?!”

“Shougo”, Nijimura croaked and grabbed his mate's shoulder, not stopping to sway. 

“Lord Aomine, I doubt that Haizaki would-”, Akashi began, but Katashi cut him off.

“Quiet! You are a guest here, Ser Seijuurou, and I will not be told what to do by you! This is Blue Peak, not Emperor's Eye!”

Akashi's red eyes narrowed and the Miracles stopped breathing in fear of what the Emperor of Swords would do against this open act of defiance. 

“I didn't collaborate with that fucking attacker, for fuck's sake!”, Haizaki growled and the guards, obviously uncertain whether to seize him or not, kept their distance. “I copied Daiki, alright?! It's fine when Ryouta does it, but when I do it, it's not credible or what?!”

“Katashi-san, Shougo-kun wouldn't try to kill-”, Kise started, but Katashi cut him off as well.

“You may be my son-in-law, Ryouta-kun, but you too will _obey!_ ”

“Lord Aomine!”, Nijimura said loudly and slowly took a step forward, still swaying. “I countermand your order of arresting my mate!”

Katashi scoffed. “Your Highness, you are obviously concussed and can't make rational choices.”

Nijimura's eyes were very dilated and yes, he was probably concussed, but his glare was hard and his pheromones authoritative.

“I said”, he growled and clutched Haizaki's shoulder for support. “I countermand your order. I am Prince Regnant, Lord Aomine. You obey _my_ orders.”

All eyes rested on the Warden of Touou. If Katashi Aomine decided to pull through with his order, he would have openly defied the regent's order, which was considered high treason – punishable by death.

“Guards, step down”, the Lord of Blue Peak drawled, his eyes shining with anger. “Search the fortress. And bring the attacker to the council room.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all expected the AoKise wedding night? HAH!


	27. The Wedding Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all had a good start into 2018! I def had, with your lovely comments :) Thank you to: Redacka, Scorus, hella_fujoshi, 2whitewolfalpha6, tiramisu, BrazilianRedPaladin, treywantsdatass, bmouse, Raisa+Islam, HollyWoodFix, eurekaseven, SherryenaQiran, Qikdaelun, Nekoshi, tenshi_04, Cat_Sama, Angel, 27thSky and MiyaDe! You guys are amazing <3  
> Also, to all the readers who are not into AoKise, you should probably skip the second half. It's just smut, nothing plot-relevant ;)

The attacker was a young Alpha woman with long ebony curls, blue eyes and boobs that rivaled Satsuki's. Her festive gown was torn where the knives had grazed it and soaked with blood where Shintarou's arrow had pierced fabric and flesh. Her Basukian was terrible, laced with a heavy angelessan accent.

Shougo wanted to choke-slam her into the nearest wall.

“Ser Shouichi”, Lord Aomine growled. “How could this happen?”

Shouichi Imayoshi, the Fox of Redlake and Master of Spies at Touou, was not smiling for once. Shougo knew the guy through Hanamiya and Imayoshi smiled all the fucking time – the only exception was when he was in trouble – serious trouble.

“She carried another's invitation, Mylord”, Imayoshi drawled, his glasses glinting in the dim light. “A no-name house the guards didn't bother to check. Undoubtedly, she has used her... womanly charms to get by as well. The guards confessed that much – they have been thrown into an interrogation cell.”

Midorima huffed and adjusted in his own glasses with a look of distaste. “What a disgustingly plain plan, in fact.”

The woman, chained to a chair, glared at him and spat angry words in Angelessan. Kagami whipped around and shot something back in the same language, equally angered.

“Taiga!”, his father snapped.

Kagami glared at him and pointed at the attacker accusingly. “Father, she threatened-”

His words were cut off by a pained yelp from the woman. Shougo had grabbed her long hair with one hand, steadied her head with the other and yanked at the long tresses.

“You”, the Pillager growled and pulled again, this time a whole bushel of hair came off. The woman tried to suppress a whimper. “Speak Basukian or I'll make you eat your own tongue once I've gotten all information outta ya and believe me, I will!”

“Shougo”, Nijimura said quietly, mindful of his pounding and spinning head. He had insisted on joining the High Lords in the council room for his attacker's interrogation despite his concussion. The physicians had put up a fuss, of course, so the meeting had been postponed a few hours so that Nijimura could get at least a bit of rest and receive some treatment. “Drop it. This is not helping.”

“How can you be so fucking calm, huh?!”, Shougo snarled and let go of the woman's hair. “That wench just tried to kill you, for fuck's sake!”

“Raging at her won't change that fact, will it?”, Nijimura snapped and swallowed when a new wave of nausea hit him.

“Prince Shougo”, a deep tenor voice spoke up and everyone turned towards the tall, intimidating figure of Masaomi Akashi, Lion of Rakuzan. The Lord of Emperor's Eye had the same scarlet hair as his son, even though it was greying at his temples. His eyes were, true to the Akashi dynasty trademark, catlike, the pupils slitted. However, his were colder, even more cruel, and both golden. “Inflicting pain on the prisoner is the torturer's duty. She will make their acquaintance soon enough.”

Shougo shot the older man an ugly look, but stepped back, seething.

“Father, if I may-”, Akashi started, but his father cut him off. 

“No, you may not, Seijuurou. This is no child's matter.”

All the present Miracles shot worried looks at the younger Akashi whose eyes had narrowed dangerously upon his father's words.

 _Anyone who acts against me is never forgiven. Even if they are my own parents_ , Shougo remembered the little sicko saying and for a second, Akashi looked like he would go all My-Orders-Are-Absolute on his father. But that fleeting moment passed and Akashi obeyed.

Masaomi Akashi turned towards Nijimura. “Your Highness, I suggest imprisoning her at the Eye-”

“No”, Katashi Aomine cut him off and pointed an accusing finger at the other man. “She will stay at Blue Peak.”

Masaomi's cold eyes narrowed. “Lord Aomine, we have witness Blue Peak's outstanding security firsthand tonight. It is fairly obvious that the attacker cannot be kept here.”

“She will stay at Blue Peak”, Nijimura echoed Aomine's father. He was sick and tired of the High Lords bickering; Katashi Aomine and Masaomi Akashi had always been the worst of the bunch. “Transporting her all the way to Emperor's Eye is too dangerous. We don't know yet if there are complices; the danger of her convoy getting attacked in order to free her is too great. She will remain here.”

Lord Akashi's face did not betray any of his emotions. He simply bowed his head. “As you wish, Your Highness.”

 

–

 

“Man”, Kise growled. “I can't believe they're not letting us attend that council meeting! It was _our_ wedding after all, and we _are_ Miracles too!”

Daiki pulled his fur cloak off with a dark expression. “Yeah. I wonder how that bitch got inside. She's Angelessan right? What do the Angelessan want with us?”

Kise stretched out on the bed. Their bedding ceremony had been rather sad considering the havoc just a few hours prior, but it was a necessity for the marriage's validity. He was shivering in the silken shirt. “I don't know. But if her cussing when the guards arrested her was anything to go by, then she's definitely Angelessan.”

Daiki sat next to his husband and threaded his fingers into silken gold hair. “Perfect wedding feast, huh?”

The Omega snorted. “We're the Generation of Miracles. None of our weddings is bound to go smoothly. Remember Midorimacchi's father almost choking on his wine when he gave a speech for his son and Takao-kun?”

Daiki couldn't help but chuckle. “He looked like a tomato with that stupid green hair and his red face.”

“More like an aubergine, really”, Kise pointed out and tapped his cheek with his index finger. “He turned purple. Oh, and Kazuki Murasakibara getting absolutely smashed and barrelling into the wine casks at Murasakibaracchi's wedding? He doused a whole table in wine.”

Daiki grinned at the memory. “Yeah, that was pretty hilarious. Hah! Remember Bakagami breaking one of Tetsuya's toes during their first dance as a couple because he stepped on his foot? Damn.”

Kise giggled and slid up so that his head was resting on Daiki's lap. “Hey, Aominecchi.”

“Huh?”

The Omega sat up and pulled Daiki forwards for a deep kiss. The other man growled lightly and slid his hands to Kise's waist, pulling him closer.

“Hey”, Kise panted between messy kisses and smiled slyly. “Who taught you to kiss like that?”

Daiki rolled his eyes and brushed their noses together. “Stop praising yourself, idiot.”

“Aw~! That's not a way to talk to your mate, is it?”

“We're not mates yet.”

Kise bit his lips and Daiki gulped and squirmed slightly at the dark look in these golden eyes. “So how about we change that, hm?”

Daiki felt his pants gradually tightening and Kise, the damn minx, rubbed against him on purpose.

“You are a devious man”, Daiki growled and ripped the buttons of Kise's silk shirt off, sending them flying.

“Wuah! That is fine silk, you know?!”, Kise exclaimed and pulled the remnant of his shirt off, leaving his sculpted upper body bare.

“Fuck off, you're rich”, Daiki muttered and dragged his fingers over Kise's chest and stomach, the well defined muscles trembling beneath taught skin. Damn, he was gorgeous.

“And you're wearing too many clothes, darling”, the Omega purred and swiftly removed the shirt from Daiki's upper body, exposing dark skin stretching over tight muscles. Daiki swore when Kise shamelessly looked him up and down and fucking _licked his lips._ “Now don't use ugly words, Aominecchi, you brute.”

“Then stop playing innocent”, Daiki said gruffly, pushed his husband on his back and wasted no time in grabbing his crotch. Kise gasped and his back arched.

“Aominecchi-!”

Daiki smirked and slowly rubbed Kise's cock through the fabric of his pants. The Omega groaned and his hips bucked, face contorted into an expression of delicious pleasure. Daiki suddenly wanted to kiss him breathless and so he did.

Kise's tongue immediately teased his lips until he opened up and welcomed it with his own. They had done this before – heavy kissing, frottage, hand jobs and even the occasional blow jobs. Omega men just had more sexual liberties than their female counterparts. Daiki moaned against Kise's mouth when the blond brought up one leg to rub his thigh against the Alpha's crotch, creating delicious friction.

“Fuck it”, Daiki growled and undid the laces on Kise's breeches with trembling fingers, almost tearing the fabric when he pulled pants and undergarments down.

He swallowed thickly. Kise laid there, splayed out for him, panting and hard and smelling oh so delicious. It was as if all of his wet dreams had come true.

Kise closed his legs and looked away with reddening cheeks. “Don't stare, Aominecchi. It's rude.”

Daiki chuckled and pressed a kiss to Kise's sharp hipbone. “Can't really help it. You look gorgeous.”

The Omega whined and his hips bucked when Daiki sneacked his fingers around Kise's cock. “Not fair... I wanna see you - _ah_ \- too, Aominecchi~”

Daiki used his free hand to unlace his own pants and had to sit back to pull them off, sighing when his member was finally freed from the constraints of his pants. “Happy now?”

Kise smiled and Daiki's heart stuttered. “Very. Come back here.”

The Alpha leaned back down and licked a long, hot stripe up Kise's length. The blond keened and Daiki had to use his hands to pin his husband's hips down when he closed his lips around the tip and sucked.

“Aominecchi!”, Kise yelped and hands flew to his hair, encouraging him to take more into his mouth. Daiki smirked around Kise's cock, relishing in the hot weight on his tongue and slid down further, hollowing his cheeks and swirling his tongue. He remembered all of Kise's good spots and he made sure to use them.

“Gods- when did you- become so _good_ at this?”, Kise panted and bit his fist to stifle a loud moan when Daiki took him almost completely before pulling back up, eyes watering slightly. “Shit- that's so not fair, A-aominecchi.”

Daiki pulled off and slowly swirled his tongue around the tip. Kise let out a choked gasp.

“O-oil.”

The Alpha removed his lips from Kise's member completely to look at him with a slight frown. “Oil?”

Kise stared at him. “You don't want to just thrust in, do you?!”

“Well, no, I'll stretch ya and stuff, but don't you, you know, get wet all on your own?”, Daiki asked with a shrug and let his finger travel lower to touch Kise's rim, making him tremble. It was slightly wet, but honestly, not very.

“Ahomine”, Kise whimpered and somehow managed to grab the small vial from the bedside table. “I'm not in heat, I don't... you know, lubricate enough. Just- gods, this is so embarrassing! Just use the oil.”

“Alright, alright, sheesh”, Daiki muttered and uncorked the vial, lathering his fingers with the oily substance before circling Kise's rim again. “Good?”

The Omega's eyes were screwed shut. “Y-yes.”

Daiki frowned. “You gotta relax, else it hurts.”

“I am relaxed, Aominecchi!”

“The hell you are.” The Alpha ducked down to press kisses to Kise's collarbones and neck. “You trust me, right? I won't hurt you or rush things. Promise. I know this is a first for you and stuff.”

“Aominecchi can be really cute”, Kise mumbled, voice muffled in Daiki's shoulder, but slowly, the tension seeped from his body enough for Daiki to ease a finger inside.

“Alright.”

Kise hummed. “Yeah.”

Daiki slowly worked his finger, mesmerised by the way Kise twitched and gasped and sighed. He slowly added another and Kise moaned.

“That's good~”

The Alpha smirked smugly and tried to crook his fingers, searching for that spot that would make Kise see stars.

“A bit to the left... higher”, the Omega whispered and gasped when Daiki found the small bundle of nerves. “Oh gods-!”

“Feels good?”, Daiki asked and thrust his fingers against that spot again, making Kise's toes curl and mouth drop open in a silent moan. 

“O-obviously”, Kise panted and grabbed Daiki's wrist when the other man added a third finger, tightening. “W-wait, gimme a second...”

Daiki stilled his movements and wrapped his free hand around Kise's cock again, pupming it to distract him from the discomfort.

“Oh fuck- Daiki”, Kise choked out and rocked his hips back against his husband's fingers. “G-go on, come on~”

The Alpha continued stretching him, even though is own erection was bordering on painful now. Kise writhed beneath him and Daiki soaked up the little gasps and moans and quiet sighs and praise the blond let out.

“Th-that's enough”, Kise whispered eventually. “I'll be fine.”

Daiki looked at him, searching for any sign of doubt on that perfect face. “You sure?”

“Absolutely.”

He grabbed the vial again, poured the remaining liquid into his hand slicked himself up. Fuck, the friction was _good_ and Daiki was so close to just jerking off if there wasn't the intoxicating scent of summer winds and hot sand and the promise of so much more.

“Daiki?”, Kise asked softly. “Why are you shaking?”

“Am not”, Daiki muttered and flexed his fingers to get rid of the nervous tremor.

“Hey.” Kise pulled him down and gave him a smile so affectionate and fond that Daiki's blush must have shown even despite his dark skin. “I love you no matter what, you know that, right?”

“That's my line”, the Alpha grumbled and burrowed his nose in Kise's neck, inhaling that scent. “.. I kind of love you too.”

“Kind of?”

“Dammit, you know what I mean.”

Kise laughed and pressed a long kiss to his husband's lips before hooking a leg around his waist and pulling the Alpha closer. “Now, how about you finish what you've begun, ne?”

Daiki shot him a glare, but obliged, lining himself up, taking a deep breath and pushing the first few inches inside. He let out a long groan, because _fuck_ , he hadn't been with anyone since he started courting Kise six months ago and Kise was just so tight and hot around him, it took all of his self-control to not slam inside at once.

“Damn”, he panted and looked at Kise's face. “You alright?”

The Omega's face was a bit scrunched up, but he wrapped both his legs around Daiki's waist and ran his fingers through dark blue hair. “I-I'm fine. Can you go slow, though?”

Daiki cupped Kise's cheeck and pressed a soft kiss to the other man's temple. “Of course.” At least he hoped so.

The Alpha slowly inched forwards until he was sheathed inside. Shit, this was not good, Kise was clenching around him and that _scent_ did things to him-!

“I- I need a sec”, he stuttered and took a deep breath. No, he wouldn't come early like a newly presented kid during their first cycle, what the fuck. “Could you relax a bit?”

Kise nibbled on Daiki's earlobe and hummed while running his fingers up and down the Alpha's back. “Take the time you need.”

Daiki let out a long exhale and slowly pulled out before thrusting back in gently.

“Yes”, Kise whispered and rocked his hips. “Like this.”

The Blue Miracles set up a slow, rhythmic pace, gasping everytime Kise tightened around him and changed his angle, trying to hit the other's sweet spot again.

“Ah- Daiki!”

There it was.

Daiki smirked and hitche done of Kise's legs over his shoulder, driving even deeper than before. 

“O-ow, I don't bend that way”, Kise gasped and wriggled his leg out of Daiki's grasp. “Sorry.”

The Alpha shrugged. “S'fine.” His hips snapped forward and Daiki moaned in time with Kise when the Omega clenched around him.

“You can - _hah_ \- go faster than that”, Kise hissed. Daiki growled, pushed his husband's legs further apart and slammed back inside, rougher and faster than before. Kise's hands flew back to grip the headboard for support and he mewled. The bed creaked in protest and with every hard thrust, Kise scooted up the bed a bit more.

Daiki grinned and leaned down to whisper in the other man's ear. “Claim me.”

Kise growled and these long, milky, muscular legs tightened around his waist like a vice, pulling him even deeper. Daiki gasped when a hot mouth started to suck at his scent gland and his hips jerked out of rhythm.

“Ryouta-!”

Teeth sank into his flesh and the Alpha groaned in both pain and pleasure, his thrusts growing erratic. Kise suckled and the bitten gland before pulling back, licking his lips and turning his head to the side, a silent request.

Daiki didn't hesitate to duck down and lick the swollen scent gland beneath pale, smooth skin. Kise thrashed beneath him and his whimpers grew louder.

“Shit, Daiki, please-”, the Omega called hoarsely and arched his upper body off the bed in an attempt to bring himself even closer. Daiki barely registered the dull pain where Kise's short nails were scratching his back and biceps when he bit down.

Kise cried out loudly and Daiki suddenly saw white, hips jerking erratically with his release, pleasure overtaking his mind, fogged up with Ryouta's scent, his mate's scent. Teeth still locked around the gland, he felt Ryouta clenching impossibly tight around him and come with a choked off moan on both of their stomachs. Daiki released the other man's nape and collapsed on top of him, breathing heavily, his softening member slipping out of his husband. His own nape was throbbing, but he couldn't care less about the pain, not with these long fingers in his hair and soft lips on his forehead and delicious scent in his nose.

Daiki drifted off to sleep before he knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up: there probably won't be a chapter next week, I have a looooooot of editing to do. Sorry guys :(


	28. The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience everyone! I got a lot of comments on the last chapter, so thank you to: Redacka, Qikdaelun, SherryenaQiran, Cerra101, HollyWoodFix, treywantsdatass, 2whitewolfalpha6, hella_fujoshi, Nekoshi, 27thSky, tenshi_04, BrazilianRedPaladin, Oldpainting, Angel, MiyaDe, Cat_Sama and TheLadyMuse <3

“Ow!”

“Don't be a pussy! I'm just changing your clothes!”  
Shuuzou hissed when the fabric brushed the sensitive, throbbing lump at the back of his head. “Be more careful then.”

“Idiot, I'm pulling that shirt off so slowly, I'm almost putting it back on already”, Haizaki grumbled and removed the garmment, leaving Shuuzou's upper body bare. “Nightshirt?”

Shuuzou gestured in the general direction. “Over there.”

Haizaki leaned over, grabbed the thick tunic and unlaced the collar so that he could get it over Shuuzou's head without rubbing against the lump too much. He seemed strangely fixated on the task.

“Hey”, Shuuzou said softly. “Are you alright?”

Haizaki scoffed and fumbled with the next string. “Of course.”

Shuuzou didn't quite believe him and glanced at the stitches on Haizaki's cheek where the healers had treated his wound. It hadn't just been a scratch after all, the wound had been deeper than thought. “How's your cheek?”

“Just a scratch”, Haizaki muttered and worked the woolen tunic over Shuuzou's head. “I've had far worse.”

“I don't doubt that”, the Alpha said. “I've seen your scars.”

Normally, Haizaki would smirk and start boasting about the battles and duels that brought him these scars and curse the people who were responsible for them in the same breath, but this time, he only shrugged. Now Shuuzou knew for sure that something was up.

“Haizaki”, he said softly, but firmly. “Tell me. What's wrong? You know you can tell me, right?”

The other man's fingers didn't stop lacing the strings of the tunic back together. “M'fine.”

Shuuzou clicked his tongue. “You're obviously not, I'm not stupid. Is it about what Lord Aomine said-”

“No, for fuck's sake!”, Haizaki snapped and Shuuzou jolted, immediately regretting the action when he was hit by a wave of nausea. “I mean, yes, sort of, but that's not it!”

“Then, what is it?”, Shuuzou snarled and swallowed the bile threatening to rise.

“You!”

The Alpha blinked. He hadn't expected that. “What, me?”

Haizaki clenched his fists and looked anywhere but at Shuuzou. 

“Yeah”, the younger man grunted out. “You were the victim of a fucking _assassination attempt_ and you're not fazed one bit! What the fuck! You could have died! You could have died, you fucking moron!”

Haizaki's voice broke and he had to take a deep, shuddering breath. “Shit.”

Shuuzou stared at his husband with wide eyes. Could it be that... Haizaki was worried? His heartbeat sped up at the thought. “You're like this... because I almost died? That doesn't make sense? You don't care-”

“Of course I fucking care, dimwit!”, Haizaki yelled and stepped back, runnings his hands through his black hair, cornrows undone for the night. Shuuzou noticed that his silver roots were showing again. “What the hell do you think?! You're my friend!! You-!”

He jammed his finger against Shuuzou's chest. “You're my damn friend and that means you're important to me and I don't want you to die! There! What's so hard about that, huh?! Do you think I almost catch a knife for everyone?! Believe me, if it had been, I don't know, Akashi, I wouldn't have jumped in the way! Fucking hells! That damn assassin scared me, alright?! One moment you're happily dancing and drinking wine, the next second you could have been dead! Damn well I'm shook! Because face it, dickhead, I actually don't want to see you dead!”

Shuuzou's heart was hammering so quickly it almost hurt. He was sure that his mouth was hanging open and that his eyes must have been the size of saucers. “Shougo...?”

Haizaki cursed, stepped forward again and wrapped his husband in a tight embrace. “You fucking bastard.”

Shuuzou was too surprised to hug him back and before he could register what Haizaki had done, the younger man had already pulled away.

“Thanks for not dying”, Haizaki muttered.

Shuuzou couldn't help but smile fondly. “Thank you for saving me.”

Haizaki slowly stepped away and cleared his throat. His cheeks were dusted with pink and he didn't quite meet Shuuzou's eyes. Shuuzou sighed softly and gripped the bedpost to steady himself. Haizaki stood in the middle of the room, slightly trembling and avoiding eye contact, hands clenched into fists so tightly his knuckles were shining through. Shuuzou's heart clenched painfully seeing him so vulnerable.

“I'm right here”, he said quietly and gave Haizaki a smile. “And that's thanks to you. Come on, I think we both need some sleep.”

Haizaki, already in his nightclothes, slipped into bed wordlessly and when Shuuzou laid down beside him, a trembling hand found his.

Shuuzou jerked slightly in surprise, but squeezed the Omega's hand briefly before letting the familiar embrace of sleep welcome him.

 

–

 

Shougo woke up to light snoring and hot breath on his neck. Also, his arm was asleep, there was hair in his mouth and he definitely had to pee.

He blinked the sleep from his eyes and looked down at the body in his arms. Sometime during the night Nijimura had turned around so that they slept face to face. The older man's face was nuzzled into the nape of Shougo's neck, one arm thrown over the Omega's side, the other tucked under his jaw. Nijimura's left leg was nudged between his own and for a moment, Shougo felt a familiar rush of heat to his lower regions.

Then he remembered what had happened the night before. Shougo swallowed and tightened his right hand around Nijimura's shoulders unconsciously. The Alpha grunted in his sleep and scowled, but didn't wake up. Shougo took a deep breath and tried to forget about the sheer rush of panic that had flooded him when he had seen the woman on the balustrade move to throw her dagger. Gods, he hadn't even thought twice about it before he had lunged to tackle his husband, getting him out of danger. For fuck's sake, he could have died himself!

“What the fuck are you doing to me, huh”, Shougo asked his sleeping husband. “Making me risk my life for you without paying or threatening me... damn. I guess that's what people do when they like someone, right?” He chuckled dryly. “Not that I'd know.”

Nijimura stirred in his sleep and moved slowly, like through water, before inhaling sharply. “...Shougo?”

“Morning”, Shougo muttered and inched backwards. Even with a light concussion he wouldn't underestimate his husband's mean punches. Nijimura, however, followed and wrapped both arms around Shougo's shoulders. “What are you doing?!”

“Sleeping, obviously”, came Nijimura's gruff reply. “Stop wiggling, you worm.”

“You stop clinging to me! What are you, a monkey?!”

The older man groaned and pressed up against him even further. “You're warm, shut up...”

“I know I'm hot, but still-!”

Nijimura snorted. “Just go back to sleep. You never skip out on an opportunity to sleep in.”

Shougo let out a long huff, but eventually settled back into the pillows. “Alright, damn. See ya later, I guess.”

 

–

 

Daiki awoke with a muffled grunt and brought a hand to his eyes to rub the sleep out of them when suddenly a jolt of pleasure shot up his spine.

He moaned in surprise and glanced down to find Ryouta licking up his cock, golden eyes clinting up at him with mischief and lust through long, thick lashes.

“Y-you minx”, Daiki breathed out, voice gravelly with sleep and threaded his fingers into tousled, silken blond hair. 

Ryouta pressed a kiss to the tip and Daiki gasped. “Good morning to you too, Aominecchi~”

“The best morning”, the Alpha muttered and let out a low moan when Ryouta licked a long stripe up his cock and circled that devilishly talented tongue around the tip. 

“You cheesy sap”, Ryouta sighed with a chuckle and Daiki's protest was swallowed in a groan when the Omega wrapped his lips around him and sucked. 

Daiki cradled his mate's head and muttered praise under his breath when Ryouta slowly slid down, tongue caressing the underside of his length. Ryouta's mouth was hot and wet around him and Daiki fought the urge to not thrust upwards and make him gag.

The Omega carefully grazed his teeth against the sensitive skin just right and Daiki breahtlessly gasped his name, making Ryouta hum around him and pull back up to swirl his tongue around the tip and suck.

“Shit”, the Alpha swore and when his hips bucked on instinct, Ryouta's hand came up to pin him down with surprising force while the other one travelled south to fondle his balls. “Damn, you're good at this-”

Ryouta smiled around his cock and blinked up at him coyly while sinking down, further and further until the tip hit the back of his throat.

“Hey”, Daiki gasped and rubbed his thumbs over Ryouta's cheekbones when he discovered tears in the corners of his eyes. “Don't - _fuck_ \- push your limits. You don't have to prove anything.”

Ryouta's gaze softened, his eyes closed and Daiki felt the other's throat relax around him, the muscles fluttering and accommodating to the weight and girth of him.

Saying that it was hard not to move would be an understatement. Every single part of Daiki's body screamed at him to move, to thrust and claim, but the thought of hurting his mate just to satisfy his own primal urges made Daiki almost growl in protectiveness.

And then Ryouta swallowed around him. Once, twice, again and Daiki, caught off guard, came with a shout and a harsh pull of Ryouta's hair down his mate's throat.

Ryouta pulled back, coughing, trails of white trickling down his chin, but Daiki was still shuddering and completely blissed out in his post-coital haze.

“Shit.” Daiki laughed breathlessly and Ryouta flopped down on his chest, licking his lips. “I didn't know you could do that. When did you learn to deepthroat?”

Ryouta winked at him. His voice was a bit rough when he said: “Took a lot of practice and quite a lot of cucumbers.”

“Cucumbers?” Daiki snorted and rolled them over. “Did anyone ever walk in on you deepthroating a vegetable?”

“Yup”, Ryouta said cheerfully. “Shougo-kun. Oh, and Kurokocchi. He actually gave me advice.”

“Wait, so did you just blow me the way Tetsu blows Kagami?”

The Omega pouted. “He gave me advice, I didn't copy him, Aominecchi.”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry”, Daiki mumbled and peppered Ryouta's face with kisses until the other man laughed again. “So how much time do we have left until the Itsuningen come in?”

Ryouta smiled seductively and lifted his hips to press his groin against Daiki's thigh. “More than enough.”

 

–

 

The next time Shougo woke up, it was to fingers threading gently through his hair and a forehead against his own.

He blinked heavily and shifted with a muffled whine, the hand in his hair never leaving. Shougo brought up one hand to rub the sleep from his eyes and when he did, Nijimura's face opposite his was in clear focus. His silvery-blue eyes were strangely soft and full of emotion Shougo couldn't quite decipher and his lips were curled into a smile that made Shougo's heart flutter involuntarily.

“Good morning”, Nijimura said quietly and he was so close that Shougo could practically feel the rumble in his chest as he spoke.

“Uh, morning”, Shougo stuttered, voice rough and words stumbling off his tongue awkwardly. His heart was beating way too fast at his mate's proximity and he was seriously worried Nijimura would hear it. What was this? Stroking his scalp? Soft smiles? Shougo had rarely felt this out of place. “Uhm. Slept well?”

Nijimura snorted, but it wasn't condescending and hid a chuckle. “Yeah. You?”

Shougo cleared his throat and desperately tried to find a spot he could look at that wasn't Nijimura's eyes. “...yeah. Same.”

No good. Now he was looking at Nijimura's lips, so close to his own and looking very, very kissable. Nijimura's eyes flicked down to Shougo's lips, then he looked back up, searching the other man's gaze and silently asking for approval.

Shougo's mind was busy screaming 'oh shit oh shit oh shit' in three thousand variations and he only realised he had nodded when the hand at the back of his head tightened.

Nijimura's hand in his hair suddenly started trembling and the Alpha scooted even closer, his scent emitting a nervous note.

Shougo felt oddly satisfied that he managed to make Shuuzou Nijimura nervous. And that he wasn't the only one being a nervous wreck. 

'Oh, fuck it.'

Shougo tilted his head and pressed his lips to Nijimura's. The Alpha's hands immediately tangled in his hair and Shougo couldn't help but hum lightly when the fingers pressed into his scalp. Nijimura slowly moved his lips and Shougo grabbed the collar of his tunic to ground himself. This wasn't right, Shougo _knew_ he shouldn't be doing this, but yesterday, the thought of losing him had thrown him into such a mess of feelings, he just had to assure himself that Nijimura was still well and truly alive.

Arranged and even forced marriage or not, Nijimura treated him like he was important to him, like he _liked_ him and Shougo hadn't known that he had missed this kind of approval, that acknowledgement and affection.

So when Shuuzou's tongue traced his bottom lip, asking for entrace, Shougo granted it without thinking twice, and tangled their tongues together. Fuck morals – you didn't need to _love_ someone to kiss them and Shuuzou was _good._. If Shougo was doing this, he was doing it right.

Shuuzou gasped in surprise and met Shougo's fervour with his own, fingers pulling at the black strands now. The Omega let out a small moan at that and retaliated by pressing into the other man's Mating Mark. Shuuzou hummed and rolled on his back, pulling Shougo on top of him.

Shougo had to admit that he really liked this position. He kissed his mate harder, he wanted to bruise their lips, and Shuuzou gripped his waist, fingers digging into his flesh.

Gods, all of this almost made Shougo regret that he had spent his heat at the Tower alone.

“Good morning, Mylor- oh gods.”

Shougo basically jumped off his husband with a shout of “For fuck's sake! Nobu! Knock!” and almost fell of the bed, just barely remembering to pull a sheet over his groin to hide the bulge in his pants.

Shuuzou groaned and pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. “This is not happening.”

Shougo's valet stood in the doorway, a tablet with steaming hot drinks in his hands, frozen on the spot. “I-I'm sorry, I didn't know-”

“Yeah, not like I'd tell you beforehand!”, Shougo barked, his face flaming red. He pulled at his bangs and groaned, slipping into a heavy fukuda sogoian accent, all hissing and clicking consonants. “Put the tablet here and get out! And don't even think about gossiping!”

Nobu hurried over, put the tablet down and replied, his accent equally heavy: “Of course, Mylord. I'll leave at once.”

The valet slammed the door shut behind him and Shougo vowed that if Nobu went around being a gossip, he'd thrown him off the cliff. And probably jump right after him out of embarrassment.

“Now that was erotic”, Shuuzou said dryly and sat up slowly, mindful of his throbbing head.

“Oh, shut up”, Shougo growled, violently grabbed one of the hot cups and pushed it in Shuuzou's direction. “Here. You'll freeze your southron balls off in this bloody mountain.”

Shuuzou couldn't help but grin. “My balls are fine. Wanna check?”

Shougo really, really had to restrain himself to not pour the hot tea over the other man's head. “Fucking pervert.”

“Now you know.”

Shougo groaned and got up to search for clothes in the chest at the foot of the bed. “You're gross. Just cause we made out a litte-”

“A little bit much.”

“Shut it!”, Shougo glared at him, the tips of his ears red. “Smug bastard.”

Shuuzou settled back into the pillows, feeling strangely content despite just having been cockblocked. “Hey.”

Shougo removed his night clothes and pulled on a pair of thick woolen pants. His upper body was bare and the skin had goosebumps from the chill and Shuuzou really waned to kiss every inch of that. “What.”

“I think I'm falling in love with you.”

Shougo's head snapped up and he gaped at the man on the bed. “Woah, wait, what?”

Shuuzou felt a bit uncomfortable under that stare, but who was he if he couldn't even stand up to his husband. “Your heard me right.”

The Omega laughed nervously and laced up the tunic he'd thrown on so violently the straps almost tore. “That concussion's really bad.”

Alright, now Shuuzou was pissed. “I'm fucking serious.”

Shougo's movement stilled and his voice was quiet and bitter when he said: “No, you're not. Quit screwing around.”

Shuuzou frowned and brusquely tried to climb off the bed, but his head protested at the sudden movement. “I think I know that better than you do.”

“Whatever.” Shougo pulled a woolen vest over the thick tunic and grabbed a leather doublet lined with fur to put on. “People are never serious about me, so stop faking it.”

Concussion or not, Shuuzou was getting up right now.

“I'm not faking anything”, he said firmly and grabbed the bedpost because fuck, the world was swaying. “Is it so hard to believe that I might genuinely like you, punk?”

Shougo shrugged and pulled on fur lined boots, looked up at Shuuzou with an angry glare. “Yeah.”

That simple 'yeah' was like a punch to the stomach for Shuuzou.

“And don't think any of this – we just made out. No big thing, just random stuff”, Shougo said before basically fleeing the room with a “See ya”.

 

–

 

“Hey, you! Are ya alright in there? Need a physician or something?”

Chihiro spat into the bucket and wiped his mouth, disgusted with himself. The smell of his own vomit made his nausea even worse than it already was. A vicious circle of puking.

“Yo! You're not dying, are ya?”

“Fuck off!”, Chihiro snarled and the guy outside swore and left.

The guardsman pushed the bucket away and pressed a hand to his mouth when he felt bile rising again.

“Shit”, he muttered and pressed a hand to his stomach. How? He had taken the potion. Hadn't he? No, he was sure. Nature was just being a bitch to him.

Chihiro rested his forehead against the cool stone of the walls and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Fucking hells.”

He couldn't do it again. When he had drank Owari Tea for the first time, the aftermath, both physical and emotional, had been hard. He hadn't been able to sleep without nightmares or pain for weeks. Nature really was a bitch, testing him like this, the exact same way, again.

Chihiro laughed bitterly and curled his hands protectively around his flat stomach.

Why was his body so adamant on having Akashi's child?


	29. The Hidden Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead, yeaaaayyyy~  
> Good news: I got accepted into university! And I clearly underestimated the amount of paperwork that comes with it so that basically consumed my whole freetime. But I'm back to upload this chapter now :)   
> Thank you to everyone who commented - I thoroughly enjoyed reading each of your reactions <3

“Good morning, Haizaki-kun.”

Shougo turned around and gave Tetsuya a big grin even though he still had a mouth full of food. “Mor'in!”

Tetsuya sighed and sat next to him, little Takeru on his lap gurgling happily. “Manners, Haizaki-kun. There is a child present.”

Shougo rolled his eyes and swallowed. “Yeah, yeah. S'not like he cares. Right, lil man?”

Takeru grinned with his few baby teeth and clapped his chubby hands.

Tetsuya clicked his tongue, but he smiled. “You're being a bad influence, Haizaki-kun.”

“You're not the first one to tell me that, Tetsuya”, he replied and booped the baby on the nose, making him squeal in delight. Babies were cool. They were predictable and easy enough to soothe once you figured out what to do. They didn't get pissed off when you forgot to use a proper title or swore and apart from pooping and crying and laughing they really didn't do much. Shougo liked babies, they were kinda gross, but easy people.

Tetsuya lifted his son off his lap and brusquely placed him on Shougo's.

“Wha- Tetsuya?!”

“You have to practice, Haizaki-kun.”

Shougo awkwardly grabbed Takeru's little shoulders so that he didn't fall off. “What for?!”

Tetsuya blinked innocently. “Your own offspring, of course. Your lips are quite bruised so I'll assume you and Nijimura-san had quite a bit of fun this morning which is rather impressive with a concussion.”

Shougo flushed bright red. “Sh-shut up! None of your business!”

Takeru giggled and reached up to pull at Shougo's unbraided hair. The black in it was almost completely washed out after this morning's bath.

“Ouch!”, he hissed and tried to pry his friend's son's hand off. “Damn, that hurts! Stop it!”

Tetsuya stifled his laughter. “He likes to pull at hair. Especially Murasakibara-kun's.”

“Wonder why”, Shougo muttered. Ryouta had whined over Atsushi's naturally soft and shiny hair often enough. He awkwardly bounced Takeru, making him giggle and squeal. A small smile crept onto his own face. “Hey, I think he likes me!”

“Kurokocchi! Shougo-kun! Good morning!~”

And just like that, Shougo's good mood vanished. “Fucking hells, Ryouta! You reek! Go bathe!”

Ryouta wore plain blue and white clohes and the nape of his neck was adorned by a purpling bite mark. And quite a lot of smaller hickeys. He pouted dramatically. “So mean, Shougo-kun~”

Tetsuya sniffed discreetly. “Your scent is indeed quite overwhelming right now. Congratulations on your mateship, Kise-kun. I take it you and Aomine-kun-”

“Tetsuya, I swear to god, stop. I don't wanna have to bleach my mind”, Shougo grumbled and continued bouncing Takeru when the baby made a complaining noise at the lack of attention.

“Anyway, Kise-kund”, Tetsuya said instead. “Why don't you take a seat and have breakfast with us?”

Ryouta winced slightly and waved the offer off. “Ah, I'm fine standing, actually!”

Shougo scowled. “Huh?”

The Shadow of Seirin sighed. “Good grief. I'll have to have a talk with Aomine-kun about being so rough with you. Come closer, Kise-kun. We need to know how it went.”

“Don't just speak for me, fucker!”, Shougo called in horror and held Takeru up. “Also, there's a baby present!”

Tetsuya waved him off. “Takeru is not even a year old, he can't understand any of this.”

“So having him listen to Ryouta's and Daiki's sex life is fine, but him watching me speak with my mouth full is not?!”

“Exactly, Haizaki-kun.”

Ryouta laughed. “Your morals can be pretty double-edged, Kurokocchi.”

Tetsuya blinked. “...thank you.”

“Pretty sure that wasn't meant as a compliment”, Shougo muttered and put his hands over Takeru's ears, just in case. He didn't want to have that pure child tainted with stories of Daiki's dick.

“I always thought long prep was a real pain, Kurokocchi!”, Ryouta moaned and ran a hand through his blond hair. “But even though Aominecchi really took his time, the initial thrust still hurt! He was a lot bigger than his fingers, that's for sure!”

Shougo wanted to die.

Tetsuya nodded with his usual stoic expression. “I understand, Kise-kun. During our wedding night, Taiga-kun had to stop and pull back out to prepare me some more. We clearly overestimated ourselves.”

“Ah, I thought it was just me whose wedding night was a bit awkward”, Ryouta said with a relieved smile. “That's reassuring to hear. But the real deal is a whole lot different from heat toys. I thought there wouldn't be such a difference since most of my toys are fairly big.”

Shougo flinched. He hadn't been able to bring his toys for his last heat, it would have been way too obvious. Pity actually, he had that one made out of glass- wait, where was he going with his thoughts?! Ryouta's mere presence had corrupted him, the perverted puppy!

“Yes, indeed.” Tetsuya smiled slightly. “Especially during heat toys cannot compare, Kise-kun. There's nothing that could come remotely close to the feeling of a real knot.”

The blond Omega winked. “Can't wait for my next heat then! Man, I never thought I'd say that!”

Shougo just stared at the baby in his lap to (unsuccessfully) distract himself from the conversation of his two friends. So the actual dick was better than toys? What a fucking surprise! Toys didn't have a knot and they were cold. Not that Shougo had any experience with knots or actual dicks in an omegan way, thank you very much.

“Oi, Tetsuya!”, Kagami barked and Takeru shrieked in delight when he heard his Alpha father's voice. “Don't just talk about that kinda stuff when Takeru's there!”

“My thoughts exactly”, Shougo muttered.

Tetsuya gave his husband a blank look. “Taiga-kun, Takeru is a baby. He cannot understand what we're talking about.”

“Whatever!” Kagami pointed at his son. “I don't want his first word to be 'cock' or seomething!”

Takeru just gurgled and clapped.

“Also, Kise, go bathe, you kinda stink”, Kagami added.

The Golden Knight whined. “Everyone's so mean!~ First Shougo-kun, then Kurokocchi, now Kagamicchi! Why do you all say that I reek~”

“Cause it's true!”, Shougo and Kagami snapped and Tetsuya chuckled while Ryouta gasped in offense.

“Of all the things you had to agree for once?!”, he moaned and sniffed. “Fiiiiine. I'm going.”

“I think limping would be more accurate”, Tetsuya said bluntly and Kagami choked. 

“Tetsuya!”

Something about that particular shout scared little Takeru and the child began crying full force, big fat tears rolling down puffy red cheeks and that tiny mouth wide open to let out an alarmingly loud wail.

“Nah, I'm not dealing with that”, Shougo growled and held the screaming baby towards Kagami who took his son and tried to shush him hurriedly. “See ya, Tetsuya?”

The Shadow of Seirin smiled. “Most certainly, Haizaki-kun.”

 

–

 

Guarding Akashi was somehow even harder today. His damn morning sickness still gave him wobbly knees and he found himself swaying every so often. The Alpha's scent was not helping at all.

The massive amount of Null Drops he'd taken today hid his own scent well enough so that Akashi couldn't smell the slight change to it yet. He only had a short timeframe to prepare himself for revealing his condition – Null Drops could only trick Akashi for so long. Undoubtedly, the red-haired terror midget would figure it out in a heartbeat, like last time, as soon as they wore down.

No. This time Chihiro would be the one holding the reins. He would tell Akashi. And he would tell him that he couldn't abort it again.

He just had to find the right place and time and quite possibly a bit of courage. Not that he'd ever admit that.

“I will go talk to my foster siblings for a moment”, Akashi said and jerked his head towards the main hall, where Kuroko, Kise, Kagami and Haizaki were bickering at one of the long tables. “Would you like to join me?”

Chihiro snorted. “No, thanks.”

Akashi sighed. “Fine, then. I will come look for you later.”

“You mean you'll send a poor scared servant”, Chihiro grumbled. “Alright, see you then.”

The Alpha gave him one of those terribly soft smiles that did things to Chihiro's pulse he would never ever admit. “Yes.”

He strode into the main hall and was greeted by a shriek of “Akashicchi!~ Everyone's being mean to me!”

Chihiro sighed and turned on his heel, wandering through the long, dark hallways of Blue Peak. That was the best part of being Akashi's personal guard. When Chihiro had been a child, he had liked to wander aimlessly through the fields and look where he would arrive. It had been soothing, in some way. Getting to see new places, new castles was almost the same as back then. 

It woul dhave been soothing here as well, if not for his shaking legs and quenching stomach.

Gods, why was he so prone to all the bad symptoms of pregnancy?! He could feel the bile rising in his throat again and had to stop and clamp a hand shut over his mouth to swallow it back down.

'Digusting.'

“Yeah, Shin-chan and I still got to talk about so many things, I mean, we're kinda unprepared for a baby, y'know?”

“I think you two will do just fine. Don't worry, Takao-kun.”

Chihiro swore in his head. Fuck. Kazunari Takao and Tatsuya Himuro, two guys with whom he actually got along well enough, were coming down this corridor and Chihiro knew that they would see him because low presence or not, someone swaying and doubled over while trying not to vomit, people tended to notice that.

“Thanks, man! So you and your hubby, when are you- oh, hi Mayuyu!”

The two men came around the corner and Takao waved and grinned, his stomach showing just the slightest curve.

Chihiro gave a curt nod and straightened his back even though his head and stomach both protested heavily. “Takao. Himuro.”

Himuro gave a polite smile. “It's unusual to see you without Akashi-kun.”

And that was _just_ the kind of sentence that set Chihiro off.

“I don't need him by my side all the fucking time, do I look like a helpless little kid to you?”, he snarled and moved to walk past them, when suddenly, his head started swimming and he only heard Takao's shout of “Catch him!” before the world went dark around him.

 

–

 

Himuro darted forward and caught Mayuzumi before he could hit the ground. He grunted quietly, people were a lot heavier when they were unconscious with no tension left in their muscles at all.

“Shit”, Takao cursed and hurried to help him hoist Mayuzumi up against the wall. “Did he just faint on us?!”

Himuro quickly checked for breathing and heartbeat and drew back when he was reassured that Mayuzumi was not in mortal danger. “Maybe it's his circulation? He probably hasn't rested or eaten with yesterday's stress.”

Takao shrugged. “Relatable. The attacker, she's under lock and key, right?”

“Guarded by the strongest and most capable and experienced knights Blue Peak can offer, Lady Aomine said. She hasn't been saying anything but 'Gold' and 'Silver' during her interrogation, even under the torturer's hands, I've heard.” Himuro sighed and sniffed. “He has been using more Null Drops. I can't smell a thing.”

“Lots of guards do that”, Takao said and shook Mayuzumi gently. “Oi, Mayuyu. It's getting kinda creepy. Wake up.”

“...Takao-kun, that's not how unconsciousness works.”

“I know, but I really don't want Akashi to walk by right now, y'know? He's kind of weird when it comes to his inner circle. You know, the Miracles, Hayama, Nebuya, Mibuchi and Mayuyu here. I mean, Akashi's a scary dude already so I don't wann aimagine how he'd be if you mess with his squad-”

Mayuzumi groaned and stirred, grey eyes slowly opening.

“The fuck happened”, he slurred and tried to get up on shaky legs. 

“Careful”, Himuro said and firmly pushed him back down. “You passed out. Out of the blue You gave us quite a scare. Are you feeling alright?”

“Dude!” Takao knelt down and shot the grey-haired man a playfully scolding look. “You gotta eat and drink enough! Don't want ya to collapse on duty, huh?”

Mayuzumi glared at him flatly. “Your mood makes me want to pass out again.”

“Yep, he's fine!”, Takao declared and jumped to his feet. “His sass is back!”

Himuro frowned lsightly and took Mayuzumi's appearance in. Still pale, but it was more of a sickly paleness. His knees wobbly and his breath gasping. “Mayuzumi-san... are you really alright?”

“M'fine”, he snapped and heaved himself up. “Never been better. Get off my case.”

“Woah, stingy”, Takao mumbled and rolled his eyes. “Sorry, Ser Sassypants, gee.”

Mayuzumi uttered a curse under his breath and walked away, one hand at the wall to steady himself and legs not quite ready to support his weight just yet. 

“Maybe 'guarding' Akashi kept him up all night”, Takao joked and laughed. “If you know what I mean? Heh?”

Himuro cocked his head. “I don't think so. Reo Mibuchi could know – he's closest to Mayuzumi-kun if I remember correctly.”

Takao crossed his arms behind his head. “Well, he's not here. Think it's something serious?”

“Who knows”, the older man said with a shrug. “Mayuzumi-kun is not exactly known for his open personality and talkative nature.”

From inside the hall came a crash and two voices began shouting at each other.

Takao jolted. “Oya?”

“Come on”, Himuro sighed. “I think our husbands are about to throttle each other again. Let's go in there before they kick off a new war.”


	30. The Rising Threat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank y'all for you lovely comments and all the congratulations I got for my acceptance into uni! <3

Shougo was so ready to finally go back to Kaito's Keep. He was sick and tired of brooding inside a ice cold mountain where everyone had been tense and stressed since the assassination attempt on Nijimura – himself included.

Even if Shougo felt a slight string when thinking about leaving Tetsuya and Ryouta. Not that he'd ever admit that Ryouta had become a friend to him! But it still felt weird when he thought about returning to his study without the Yellow Miracle by his side. Ryouta would remain at Blue Peak with his husband and work from there... unless Shougo could convince Daiki to come to Crownwell. And he highly doubted Daiki would comply.

Shougo sighed and turned the collar of his fur lined cloak up. Wandering through the hallways of Blue Peak turned out to be pretty chilly. 

He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a gagging sound followed by the stench of vomit. Shougo wrinkled his nose and shouted: “Oi! You better not be puking into a corner, asshole! At least look for a window!”

“We're inside a fucking mountain, where do you think I'd find a window, shithead?!”, a voice snarled back, a man. And it sounded somehow familiar...

Shougo stepped around the corner and his eyes widened. “No shit. Aren't ya Tetsuya's half-brother? The fuck are you doing?”

Mayuzumi shot him a venomous look. “Inspecting my breakfast, of course. What does it look like, huh?! Puking my intestines out, obviously. Now if you'd be so fucking kind and piss o-”

He paled, gagged and just barely managed to turn around so he didn't vomit on Shougo's boots.

“Fuck”, Mayuzumi wrenched out between crucial heaves and slid down to his knees.

“Oi”, Shougo said slowly. What was he supposed to say? His best friend's bastard brother kneeled there, clearly miserable and sick. “You alright?”

“Yes, of course”, Mayuzumi snarled. “I'm just puking for my own entertainment, you should try it sometime.”

Shougo clenched his teeth. Where Tetsuya was blunt and dry comments, Mayuzumi was all dark sarcasm and cynical snarls. Shougo didn't really do well with that.

“Ya need help or stuff?”, he asked instead. Bastard or not, that guy was related to his best friend.

“Well, if you have any advice for a bastard pregnant with a bastard, shoot, but I doubt it, _Your Highness_ ”, Mayuzumi spat darkly and bent over when another gag wrecked his body, nothing left to spit out. “Shit.” His voice was shaking and Shougo's own stomach dropped.

'Fuck.'

“It's Akashi's?”, Shougo asked as carefully as he could. What was he supposed to say here?!

“What do _you_ care?”, Mayuzumi said bitterly and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, grimacing. “Huh. Not like I have anything to lose. Yeah, it is.”

This was something Shougo was not prepared to deal with. He had never had anyone close to him being pregnant. At least, unhappily like Mayuzumi.

“Does he... know?”, Shougo asked lamely. He wasn't even sure if that was the right thing to ask. Gods, he was about ten miles out of his comfort zone.

“Of course he doesn't! It's not like I can go up to him and say 'hey, Akashi, by the way, I'm pregnant! You happy?' Newsflash, pirate kid, that's not how it works when you're not married!”, Mayuzumi spat and slowly rose, knees shaking like leaves. “You don't know anything so leave me the fuck alone.”

Shougo was tempted to punch the guy, but alas, he was sick and pregnant at that. Shougo might be an asshole, but he did have some morals.

“Yeah, whatever”, he growled. “But you are really fucking dumb if you think that Akashi's not head over heels for you and wouldn't burn down fucking Crownwell for ya if he had to, even if I can't get why! Fuck you, dude. That's so pathetic.”

“I don't give two shits about your opinion, Shougo Haizaki”, Mayuzumi snarled. “You have no fucking idea how lucky you are to be trueborn and so important to someone you're used to exert leverage on them, so don't you fucking dare lecture me about obliviousness! And would you look at that, the guy who's basically keeping you hostage fell in love with you!”

Shougo flinched and licked his tongue, trying to push the memory of Nijimura's confession back. “Love!? Where the fuck did you get that idea!”

“Oh, please.” Mayuzumi wrinkled his nose. “You both suck at pretending. Now remember one thing, asshole: don't you ever make assumptions about my situation again or I'll slit your throat. Understood?”

Shougo felt anger boiling inside of him. “Who the hell do you think you're talking to, huh, Bastard of Shadowhall?! I'm your future King Consort!”

“What's going on here?”

Both men froze at the smooth voice that belonged to the once person most unfit to be there at the moment.

“Piss off, Akashi”, Shougo snapped.

Akashi crossed his arms behind his back and arched one thin eyebrow. “I do not take orders from you, Haizaki.” He wrinkled his nose. “What is this smell?”

“Barf”, Mayuzumi said dryly. “Some drunkard probably-”

Shougo scoffed. “How pathetic are you, you fucking liar. Yo, Akashi. I caught him puking his stomach out, wanna know why?”

Mayuzumi whirled around, eyes widening in horror.

“He's pregnant again.” Shougo saw Mayuzumi's stoic facade collapsing to show an expression of pure horror while Akashi showed no emeotion except for the slightest widening of his red eyes. “Yeah. Congrats, Akashi. You should probably learn when to pull out.”

“Silence!”

Shougo froze and stared at the red-haired Alpha. He hadn't seen Akashi explode like this in... like, ever.

“Watch your tongue, Haizaki”, Akashi said, voice quieting again. “And leave. At once. Not you, Mayuzumi-san. Only Haizaki.”

“Was about to leave already”, Shougo spat and turned on his heel.

 

–

 

“...did he tell the truth?”

Chihiro wanted nothing more than to actually merge with the shadows. He'd kill Shougo Haizaki, prince by marriage or not, he'd kill him. This wasn't how Chihiro had wanted to tell Akashi. Not in a dark corridor at Blue Peak with the stench of his own vomit and his own legs barely supporting him. Not when he wasn't ready. Just for once he had wanted to have full control of a situation.

“Chihiro?”

His head jerked up and he frowned when he saw that yes, Akashi's eyes were still both red. And yet he still called him by his given name?

But what stunned him more was the amount of hope in these red, catlike eyes. Unguarded, honest and open hope.

“...yeah”, Chihiro mumbled eventually and looked away, unconsciously sucking his stomach in. “I don't know how, but... yeah. That fucking pirate kid told the truth.”

Akashi let out a shuddering breath and stepped closer to Chihiro who immediately jumped back.

“No, I don't want your pity-!”

“I'm not pitying you.” Akashi took another step and this time, Chihiro held his ground. “Allow me to give you something.”

Chihiro scowled and gestured to his stomach. “You've already given me this.”

Akashi ignored the comment and reached into his pocket to retrieve a small bundle. When he unwrapped it, a knife not longer than his hand, was held out to Chihiro, hilt first.

“Weaponry?”, Chihiro asked incredulously. Out of all the scenarios of Akashi's reaction he had imagined, this hadn't been one of them. “Are you kidding me?”

Akashi nodded. “Take a closer look at it, please.”

Chihiro glared at him, but did as he was told. The dagger was excellent craftmanship, he could tell from one glance, the steel perfectly smithed. He recognised the mark in it as his preferred smith's who forged all his throwing knives and daggers for him.

“It's a nice knife, but-” Chihiro stopped when his eyes fell upon the hilt. It was almost plain, wrapped in fine black leather with a silver pommel. But there was a fine gravure on the pommel: fine gold lines forming a lion with ruby eyes and on the other side equally fine black lines forming a dog with grey eyes.

Chihiro recognised it immediately. He had made the black, grey-eyed dog his sigil back when he was young and still defiant of his bastard status, but the shield it had been painted upon had been lost during the battle at Haiboku Hill. Chihiro had never had it remade. Too much of a hassle.

But Akashi had remembered. And Akashi had engraved it on a unique dagger alongside his own sigil.

Chihiro knew what this meant.

“Chihiro Mayuzumi, I hereby offer you my last courting gift and ask for your hand in marriage as my bond mate for eternity and beyond”, Akashi said firmly, but the hand holding the dagger was trembling.

Chihiro clenched his teeth and tried to force the fluttering of his heart down. “I already said n-”

“There's only so much rejection I can take, Chihiro”, Akashi said quietly, and for the first time it hit Chihiro how Akashi must have felt being rejected again and again. “If you honestly and truly do not hold any love for me and do not wish to be with me, then say so. I want you to answer truthfully and disregard our legal statuses just this once because I do not care about them and I wish you wouldn't, either.”

Chihiro swallowed and felt his eyes burning and sight blurring. Fuck. Fuck. He couldn't say no. Not this time, not again. Not when everything he clandestinely had wished for was right there in front of him. He remembered the violet tulips, so dark they were almost black, Akashi had given him years ago, his favourite flowers (even though he had never directly told Akashi), and how he had realised that Akashi was giving him courting gifts after the fourth present. He remembered how he hadn't refused any of them, even if he had accepted them with quiet grumbling.

“Your father will kill you”, Chihiro said hoarsely and took the dagger, his own hand shaking just as much as Akashi's. “Fine... I- accept your proposal.”

Akashi's responding smile was so full of joy and love that Chihiro had to cough and look away so that the Alpha wouldn't see him blush.

“Thank you”, Akashi said and gently cupped Chihiro's reddening cheeks.

“I just barfed so I really wouldn't kiss myself now”, he blurted out.

Akashi made a displeased face and sighed, but his smile was still there. “Chihiro...”

“I'm serious.”

Akashi chuckled and damn, Chihiro was still so weak for that chuckle.

“Chihiro?”

“What do you want now?”, Chihiro mumbled and crossed his arms. He was feeling strangely warm and fuzzy and not nauseous for the first time in _days._ “Want to embarrass me even further, brat?”

The red-haired Alpha carefully uncrossed Chihiro's arms and squeezed his hands. Akashi's hands were strangely warm and Chihiro could feel his heartbeat. “I am very happy about our baby. I truly am.”

Chihiro coughed again and instinctively turned his torso to the side. Gods, his heart was thundering like crazy, he felt lightheaded. That simple sentence his mother had never gotten to hear from Lord Kuroko when she was pregnant with Chihiro made him feel way too warm and... happy. “You're such a sap, Seijuurou...”

And just for this moment, Chihiro forgot that he was a bastard.

 

–

 

The young man's knees were shaking when he bowed to the man in front of the giant windows. “Mylord, it is done. She's- the crew got rid of her.”

“Hey, ya cocksucking lil wimp!”, the monstrously big man next to him barked. “He's not a lord! He's your king starting now!”

The young man cowered in fear when the tall silhouette loomed over him. “I-I'm so sorry, Y-your Majesty. I- it was just a habit. P-please. I beg you. Forgive m-”

The rest of his words were swallowed by a scream, a gurgle and a horrifying cracking and tearing noise.

The monstrous man tossed the head aside, torn off the messenger's shoulders with his bare hands. Blood was spreading on the tiles of the hall. “He would have fucked a pig if you asked him just because he was so fucking scared. Fucking pathetic.”

“We don't need these vile peasants from the islands”, the man in front of the window said with a chuckle in his voice. His untainted white cloak shone in the dim light, giving him an ethereal look. “Good job.”

“He said it was done. She's dead. We can strike now, right?!”

“Yeah.” The smaller man turned around and smirked, cold green eyes glowing with greed. “Call the banners of the crown. We're setting sail to these digusting monkeys across the Vast Sea within four days.”

“What about the ones who refuse your call? Kill 'em?”

“Do what you're best at, Jason. Slaughter them.” His smirk widened. “Slaughter them in the name of Nash of House Gold, the second of his name, King of Angeles and Conqueror of Teiko.”


	31. A Mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh, I'm really not sure if I like this chapter. I'll just post it and get it over with *sigh*  
> To everyone who commented on the last chapter — wow you guys are so, so, so amazing ❤ thank you for your support!

"You've been quiet."

Haizaki shrugged. They weren't far from Crownwell anymore and the strong, steady winter winds helped the 'Azure Spear' cut through the waves almost effortlessly. "Yeah. Been thinking."

Shuuzou cocked his head. First things first, Haizaki was under deck. In the cabin. Normally, he'd be on deck and nothing would be able to remove him from it. Secondly, he had cut his hair about three days into their voyage back, shorn it at the sides and the back of his head. Thick, silver strands fell into his face and he kept on blowing them away in light irritation. It didn't look bad - on the contrary. Shuuzou had already known that Haizaki was handsome — he had a sharp jawline, unfairly pretty silver eyes (though Haizaki would probably punch him in the face if he were to ever say that) and his face had a near perfect bone structure. Haizaki was tall and muscular, a picture-perfect knight if not for his foul mouth and sometimes questionable attitude. The silver hair made Shuuzou realise anew that he was married to a really gorgeous guy. 

Oh, and the third aspect indicating that something was amiss, Haizaki wasn't talking. He was just too quiet.

"About?", Shuuzou asked and flopped onto the heavy fur blankets of the big bed in the middle of the cabin. "You don't have to tell me, but it has to be important if it's got you so quiet."

Haizaki chewed on his bottom lip. "Yeah..."

Shuuzou waited for a few heartbeats, then he sighed. If Haizaki didn't want to tell him, so be it. "Alright. Just know that you can talk to me about pretty much anything, yeah?"

"Hey."

Shuuzou looked up to find Haizaki standing closer to him than before, arms crossed tightly over his chest. "What is it?"

Haizaki seemed to struggle for words for a moment and his ears turned red. "Before Nobu walked in. At Blue Peak. You know. Did you... like it?"

Shuuzou arched an eyebrow. Did he like it? He had sported an impressive boner back then and he couldn't even be angry at himself for it because he had had his very gorgeous mate on top of him. "I thought that was obvious."

Haizaki shot him a foul look. "I'm tryna be serious here, idiot."

"I'm serious, too", Shuuzou said plainly. "I liked it very much."

Suddenly, Haizaki's whole posture loosened and he strode over with determination, swung one leg over Shuuzou's lap so that he was bent over him and stared him right in the eyes.

Shuuzou gulped inaudibly and gave a lopsided grin. "Heh~?"

Something glinted in Haizaki's eyes, something that Shuuzou could only describe as desire. He didn't know where it came from, but weeks and weeks of suppressed lust won over the rational part of his mind telling him to back off and talk.

The Alpha felt a growl rising in his chest and he surged up to smash their mouths together in a violent kiss.

Haizaki groaned and his hands shot to the back of Shuuzou's head to twist into the black strands and tug. A jolt of pleasure shot right to Shuuzou's groin and he grabbed Haizaki's thighs, feeling the muscles twitch beneath the fabric under his touch.

Haizaki's tongue forced its way into Shuuzou's mouth and the Alpha slid his hands higher, squeezing Haizaki's ass. The Omega gasped and broke the kiss, a string of saliva still connecting them as they panted heavily.

"How far do you wanna go?", Shuuzou breathed and the determination on Haizaki's face wavered.

"Dunno", he muttered and looked away, ears turning red again. "If I tell you to stop, will you..."

"Of course", Shuuzou said with a scowl. "What did you think? I'm not a rapist."

"What? Lots of Alphas are dicks about consent."

"No pun intended", Shuuzou muttered and huffed when Haizaki pulled of his tunic and threw it in his face.

"Dude", the Omega groaned exasperatedly. 

Shuuzou peeled the tunic off and winked at his husband before running his hands up the bare upper body in front of him.

Haizaki flinched when Shuuzou's fingers brushed against a nipple. "I'm not one of those guys who like that, Niji."

"Alright", Shuuzou said and slid his hands higher to gently press into Haizaki's scent glands. The Omega let out a low whine and rolled his hips against Shuuzou's, making him gasp. "What's gotten into you?"

"Who cares? I'm horny as fuck", Haizaki muttered and rolled his hips again. Shuuzou's pants were quickly becoming too tight and he let his head fall onto Haizaki's shoulder with a moan.

"Gods..."

"Ya can still call me 'Shougo'", Haizaki said with a smug grin and Shuuzou rolled his eyes before toppling them over, pinning Haizaki beneath him.

The younger man glared at him and slapped his hands away. "What am I, a ragdoll? Bastard."

Shuuzou pressed his thigh between Haizaki's legs, making him groan and grind down against him. Shuuzou felt a rush of heat coursing through him and he grinned down at his mate. "You seem to like it."

Haizaki growled and pushed Shuuzou off him with all the strength expected of a man with his build.

Shuuzou fell back and quickly sat back up, concerning evident on his face. "Did I push too- hey!"

Haizaki shoved him against the bedpost and almost ripped the strings of his pants pulling them off.

Shuuzou couldn't even say something before Haizaki wrapped his hand around his cock.

The Alpha let out a long gasp and his hips bucked up on instinct. "Shougo-!"

"Shut it", the other man panted and unfastened his belt to free his own member.

Shuuzou growled low in his throat and pulled Haizaki forwards. He didn't know what had gotten into the Omega, but he sure as hell wouldn't complain. He had wanted this for weeks, maybe even months. They would talk later. 

Haizaki whined when his cock brushed against Shuuzou's and the Alpha wrapped his hand around them both, growing lightheaded from the sensation. Haizaki was about as long as him, but Shuuzou had more girth. Still, they fitted against each other snugly and each slow stroke of his hand made Haizaki gasp.

'So it's true Omega cocks are more sensitive?' Shuuzou smirked and ran his thumb over Haizaki's tip. The Omega jerked in his lap with a choked off moan and grabbed Shuuzou's shoulders with a hiss of "you fucker".

"Hah- Shuuzou", Haizaki gasped when the Alpha twisted his wrist and Shuuzou stared at him in awe, at the way his chest heaved, his muscles twitched and flexed beneath taut, pale skin, how his skin flushed pink and how his breathing hitched when he ran his fingers just under the tip. Suddenly, his own arousal faded from his mind and all his senses focused on Haizaki's reactions, each little gasp and sigh was soaked up and Shuuzou unconsciously leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together.

"Shougo", he whispered and reached for the Omega's hand with his free one. 

"What- hah- are you doing?", Haizaki panted. 

"You're gorgeous", Shuuzou said openly and Haizaki flushed bright red.

"Don't say such things when you've got your hand on my dick, idiot!", he sputtered and ducked his head trying to hide his blush. "Hng- fucking sap."

Shuuzou smiled and squeezed Haizaki's hand in his. "It's true."

He twisted his wrist and applied soft pressure on the tip, determined on making the Omega come.

Haizaki jerked and shuddered with a long, drawn-out groan before coming all over Shuuzou's hand and own cock. 

Shuuzou could only watch him come undone as he stroked him through it, head fallen forward, eyes scrunched close, cheeks flushed and mouth opened in a breathless sigh.

Haizaki swayed slowly, silver eyes hazy with bliss, and Shuuzou pulled him against his chest, wincing slightly because his raging hard-on was really hurting.

Haizaki nuzzled his neck and Shuuzou shuddered when hot breath ghosted over his Mark. He jerked when a pair of fingers lazily ran up his length.

"Shougo, what are you-?!"

"Shut up", Haizaki growled. "And enjoy. You're ruining my afterglow."

The Omega wrapped his fingers properly around Shuuzou and the Alpha's hips bucked up.

"Won't take long, huh?", Haizaki said and applied just the right amount of pressure where Shuuzou's knot would form if either of them were in their cycle. "You close?"

"Shougo, c'mon—", Shuuzou groaned and squeezed his hands on Haizaki's waist. 

"Yeah", Haizaki said lowly and bit Shuuzou's Mark.

An unbelievable shot of pleasure ripped through Shuuzou and he yelped, threw his head back and came with a moan.

Haizaki lazily stroked him through until Shuuzou winced in oversensitivity.

Once he had caught his breath, Shuuzou looked at his husband with a small frown on his face.

"Why did you do that, Haizaki?", he asked and wiped his hand on the sheets. 

Haizaki shrugged and slipped off Shuuzou's lap to pull up his pants again. "Felt like it." He was frowning as well, as if he was trying to come up with an explanation for something impossible.

Shuuzou scowled. "I'm not your fuck buddy."

Haizaki blew a strand of silver hair out of his face, expression darkening. "Yeah... guess we shouldn't have done this."

The Alpha's stomach sank at the words. "No?"

"You said you're in love with me", Haizaki said slowly and sat up, clean hand coming up to rub over the short silver hair at the back of his head. "And, don't get me wrong, you're not a bad guy and I like you. But not like that, you know? Fuck. Sorry."

Shuuzou let out a small sound. He was feeling strangely numb. 

'I like you, but not like that.'

The words echoed inside his head, but he couldn't understand them, not really.

Did it mean that- that Haizaki didn't love him? That's what it meant, right? Shuuzou wasn't surprised — this was _Shougo Haizaki_ after all — but it still... hurt. Somehow.

"Alright", he heard himself say. 

Haizaki turned around, frowning. "Huh? You're alright with it?"

Shuuzou shrugged. Gods, he wasn't alright with it, but what could he do? Force Haizaki to love him back? No way. It wouldn't work anyway. "I am. Don't worry about it."

The silver haired man seemed strangely relieved. "That's- good to hear. Uh, I'll get changed and go on deck. Crownwell's not too far."

Shuuzou nodded, still numb. "I'll join you in a bit."

\--

When the 'Azure Spear' docked in the port of Crownwell at long last, they weren't greeted by cheering smallfolk or royal banners and dignitaries.

They were greeted by five Itsuningen in black robes instead.

Haizaki frowned. Itsuningen wore white to signify their pure and untainted faith. They only wore black to honour the Second god - the Giver of Death.

"What's going on here?", Shuuzou spoke up and walked towards them. Dread was already settling in his stomach. He felt like he had swallowed ice. "What happened?"

"Your Highness", the oldest of the five priests spoke up, a woman with a long, grey braid. "It is your royal father."

Shuuzou stopped, but his world started spinning. This wasn't the first time the black clad priests had come to his father's bed, but Takeshi had always survived and the Itsuningen left again. But still... the possibility was there. "He- will make it. He has always made it. This time won't be different."

The grey haired woman shook her head. "The Second god has given your father his gift long ago, Your Highness. He now demands his payment, once and for all."

"His Majesty King Takeshi is on his deathbed", another priest said. "The Lord Healer cannot help him anymore. He will not see the next week."

Shuuzou didn't freeze. He didn't fall to his knees. 

He shoved the guards blocking his way away and ran.

"Niji! Hey!", Haizaki called.

Shuuzou didn't stop. Right now he was not a prince, or a husband, or the regent. 

He was only a son. So he ignored the calls behind him and ran for Kaito's Keep, to his father.


	32. The Lost Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. This is super late. Partly because I was really busy, but mostly because... I've been struggling with writing recently. Not just 'Heavy is the head', but also with my other WIP. I keep editing and editing my stuff because I'm just not satisfied with my work until I'm so frustrated I just leave it as it is. Wanting to write and somehow not being able to is the worst feeling, lemme tell y'all. If it hadn't been for your lovely comments and continuous support, I probably would have gone on hiatus with this. So thank you so, so much for not making me drop this fic that I actually really love to write ❤

Humidity hung heavy in the air, fog wafted over the roofs of Spider's Web. The sunlight couldn't get through the thick clouds, sparse grey light illuminated the stone castle.

Hanamiya exhaled the water pipe's smoke in a ring and put the tube aside. His body was aching pleasantly, the bite marks and bruises littered all over his neck, collarbones and hips throbbing dully.

"You're gonna kill yourself with that stuff."

Hanamiya huffed and demonstratively brought the tube to his lips once more. "So what?"

The man behind him shifted and a large hand came up to rest on his hip, thumb caressing the bruised skin like in an apology. "I like you alive, Hanamiya."

Makoto shrugged the hand off. "Do I care about your opinion and what you like? Hah! Don't be ridiculous, Kiyoshi." 

The Warden of Kirisaki Daiichi turned around with a sneer. "What are you even still doing here, exactly?"

"Uhm." Kiyoshi blinked at him with his stupid warm brown eyes. "Enjoying the afterglow?"

Hanamiya breathed the next exhale of smoke right into his face. "Afterglow? You sound like a sentimental goody-two-shoes. Oh wait! I forgot. You are one. Now, get out of here."

Kiyoshi shrugged. "Actually, I'm here to make sure you don't stir up a war. King's orders."

"And my bed is the ideal place for that? King Takeshi won't live longer than one day from now. He's been fighting the Red Death way too long now", Hanamiya said, voice already bored. "No miracle healer can cure him. Rokurou Midorima just elongated his dying process. It's only a matter of time until Ken Nijimura ascends the throne."

Kiyoshi frowned and sat up with a wince. The scratch marks on his back were burning. "Ken? Shuuzou is first in line, not Ken." 

Hanamiya smirked. "As of now."

The Alpha's blood ran cold and he darted forward to grab the other man's wrist. "Makoto. What did you do?"

The Omega shrugged and his smirk widened. "Nothing, of course."

"Makoto-!"

"I'm serious, idioooot", Hanamiya drawled and laid back, stretching lazily and grinning slyly when he saw how Kiyoshi's eyes flicked up and down his body before finding their way to his face again. "I'll decide spontaneously if I'll do it or not... and hah, you can't change that, you goody-good martyr soul~"

Kiyoshi flinched, his scowl deepened. "Tell me."

"Huh? Why should I?" Hanamiya gave him a weary look and brought the water pipe's tube back to his lips. "I'm not so stupid to present you my cherished secrets on a silver platter."

"Makoto." Kiyoshi's grip around Hanamiya's wrist tightened. "I can't let you-"

"Too bad for you I haven't asked for permission, right?" Hanamiya ripped his wrist free and sat up, grabbed his robe and fluttered his fingers in a dismissive gesture. "Get dressed and get out or I'll call my guards. You don't want the Kiyoshi name tainted with accusations of rape, do you?" He grinned and bared his mauled collarbones. "The way I look no one would even doubt it."

Kiyoshi's frown deepened even further and he slowly got up, collected his clothes, put them on and left the young lord's rooms without another word.

Hanamiya waited until he was sure the Alpha was gone, then he flopped back onto the bed. The smirk from before slipped from his face. 

'This is much harder than anything else, actually.'

 

\--

 

"You gonna tell me what you're brooding about?", Seto asked and yawned. 

Hanamiya shot him a foul look and redirected his gaze at his book. "Brooding? Hah. As if."

"Can't fool me, ya know that. Why do you try?" Seto sat up with a low grunt and stretched. The two of them sat in the big library of Spider's Web, the flames in the fireplace crackling quietly. "Makoto."

"Kentarou", Hanamiya shot back. "Drop. It."

"Nah." The sleepy Alpha scowled and pushed his fringe out of his face. "S'it about your Seirinese courtmate? Did he knock you up or something?"

Hanamiya's look was poison. "Kiyoshi is _not_ courting me, for the fucking umpteenth time! And he didn't knock me up, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Seto shrugged. "If it's not that, it must be that healer's report, right?"

Hanamiya clicked his tongue and carefully schooled his features into a look of boredom and mild annoyance. "Kasumi? She's only one of many strings of my web. Why would _her_ report upset me?"

"I didn't say which healer."

The Lord of Spider's Web swore in his head and slammed the book shut. What a foul, plain response. Ugh. "Will you stop bugging me already?! I won't hold back with you if you don't, friend or not."

Seto's eyes gleamed and he leaned forward. "Huh? Is that also the reason why the younger Haizaki is still alive and Prince Shuuzou still royalty?"

Hanamiya's blood froze and he sneered at his best friend. "Kasumi only reports to me."

"You have spies, I have spies. Some of your spies have been mine before and I have still power over them. You knew that and still employed her", Seto said with a shrug. "I threatened her into telling me. I was worried."

"What, about me?!" Hanamiya chuckled. "How _good_ of you. Careful, you might start sounding like Kiyoshi."

Seto grimaced. "Alright, ouch."

The Omega huffed and opened his book again. He had read four sentences when Seto spoke up again.

"You want to hurt the Miracles and topple the land into chaos again, but you don't want your friend to get executed?"

"Kentarou, for _fuck's sake!",_ Hanamiya snarled. "He is not my friend! We get along and he is not as shitty as the other Miracles. That is all to it. He's only still alive because I couldn't be bothered to act on my knowledge. Yet. Something as vile as sympathy would never stop me from _anything."_

Seto huffed. "Yeah. Sure."

Hanamiya glared over his book. "Oh, you don't believe me?"

"I've known you since we were children. And I'm not as dumb as Yamazaki."

"That's not hard to achieve."

"You get what I mean, Makoto."

"Shut your trap."

"M-"

Hanamiya stood up abruptly and towered over the sitting Seto, face dark and eyes glinting dangerously. "You can be really glad you're of value to me, Kentarou. If you were anyone else, you would have lost an ear or a thumb for your disrespect."

Seto stared right back at him. "I didn't expect anything else, _Mylord."_

 

\--

 

"I'm sorry, Mylord."

Tatsuya simply nodded. The healer went to wash his hands, then packed his utensils back into his leather bag and left the room with a bow.

As soon as the door was shut, Tatsuya slammed his fist against the wall behind him.

Again. Yet again his heat had ended without gracing him with a child. What was wrong with him?! 

The heir of Mirage Hall gritted his teeth and shook his aching fist. This might have not been his cleverest idea.

But why? He knew many, many Omegas, of both genders, that wound up pregnant on accident because they were not careful enough during their heat or didn't take the Moon Potion on time. Fukui's and Liu's little daughter Kaori had been unintentionally conceived and now Fukui was pregnant _again_ and cursing his Beta mate for knocking him up a second time on accident. So why didn't it work with him? They had tried for so long, five cycles now, and heat and rut were supposedly a guarantee for pregnancy.

So why was his womb empty?

Tatsuya took a deep breath and stared at his flat, empty stomach. Gods, he had hoped that this time, it would have worked. This time for sure. But no - another disappointment. Tatsuya didn't want to imagine the dejected look on Atsushi's face when he told him again. His mate had grown up in a big family and wanted to have one of his own. Tatsuya had liked children as long as they were not his responsibility, but he was his parents' only child and therefore needed to produce an heir.

Somewhere along the way, though, he had actually grown fond of the idea of raising a few children with shiny black hair and glinting violet eyes with Atsushi. He didn't even care about the gender or the dynamic of the child, he just wanted one.

Once again, Tatsuya wondered if he was barren. If his hedge knight days back in Angeles that had gotten him a fair share of punches and kicks to the stomach had rendered him too injured to conceive. He remembered his fight against Shougo Haizaki and often thought that his future King Consort's kicks were at fault for his difficulties of conceiving. If that was the case, even Shuu wouldn't be able to protect Haizaki.

Tatsuya took a deep breath and willed himself to calm down.

"Hot Heart, Cold Mind", he said quietly, but clearly. "The words of House Himuro, _my_ words."

He tucked his undershirt and tunic back into his pants, pulled the woolen overtunic down and buttoned the fur-lined leather vest up before throwing the heavy fur cloak over his shoulders. It was winter in Yosen and the cold was unmerciful there - sometimes, Tatsuya was shivering despite his thick layers of clothing and a fire in the room. Yoseni always looked particularly funny in winter - two pairs of thick woolen pants were the norm, scarves, gloves, fur cloaks, everyone generally looked a bit rounder than usual. It would be ridiculous if Tatsuya wasn't in the exact same situation.

He smoothed his hair over his left eye, hiding the hideous scar deforming it and rendering him half-blind there. Tatsuya kept it a secret, even Atsushi had seen his left eye - or what was left of it - only a handful of times, mostly during Tatsuya's heats, when he forgot about covering the scar when a wave hit. People would use his blind spot on purpose if they knew, but like this, no one underestimated him or tried to take advantage over a stupid scar - it was not a disability. With or without it, he fought just the same way.

Tatsuya made his way up to the tower where the icy winds whipped his face. It had taken a while for him to readjust to yoseni climate after his foster days at Angeles under Queen Alexandra's tutelage. Mirage Hall was by the sea and the fogs created on some days a mirror image of the castle - the doom of many ships. That way, Mirage Hall had gotten its name.

If it was not foggy for once, one could see for miles and miles over the sea. It was a beautiful view; snow flakes dancing over the frosted bay, the ice cracked regularly to ensure that ships could still leave and enter the docks.

Tatsuya slipped on his gloves and scarf and turned the fur-lined collar of his cloak up to shield him against the cold. On days like this, he really missed the angelessan climate. When he had returned to the wintery Yosen, he had thought a natural disaster was occurring.

"Mylord?"

Tatsuya turned to face one of his guards, red-nosed from the cold with frost in his moustache. "Yes?"

"Your lord husband has asked for you."

He sighed. Of course. Despite his childish attitude, Atsushi's senses were unusually sharp for an Alpha, almost on par with a Beta's, and he always felt it through their Bond if something was wrong. He did not always act on it though, most of the time he chose not to interfere and Tatsuya was grateful for that - but sometimes, Atsushi did ask.

"Where is he?", he asked with another sigh. "The usual place?"

"Yes, Mylord."

"Very well. Thank you. You are dismissed."

The guard bowed and left; Tatsuya made his way down, where his mate usually spent his time: the kitchens.

Atsushi was hunched over a bowl of candied fruits, as it seemed, and happily munched away on them while cats nudged his long legs and meowed. Cats loved him. Atsushi always said it was a bother, but Tatsuya had caught him petting them, picking them up and feeding them often enough to know that he liked the little balls of fur.

"Atsushi", Tatsuya called and pulled off his fur cloak. Only the kitchens were truly warm during winter. "That's today's dessert, don't eat it."

"Muro-chin~", Atsushi drawled and shoved another candied fruit into his mouth. "Lady Cook said I could."

The cook gave her lord's son an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, M'lord. He insisted."

Tatsuya wasn't mad at her, he knew how intimidating and persistent his husband could be when it was about sweets.

"It's quite alright. Don't worry." He sat opposite his husband, careful to choose a seat that was not disrupting the work in the kitchen. "What are these, Atsushi? Candied apples?"

Atsushi shook his head, long purple strands flying at the movement. "Nah~ candied lemons."

"Lemons? Where did you get lemons this time of the year?"

"From the frozen stores", the Violet Miracle mumbled and popped another candied lemon into his mouth. Yosen had the hardest winters, but very fertile soil in summer. They put their harvest into vaults of ice to make it last longer and therefore they could enjoy summer fruits during the cold winter months as well. Yoseni never starved; the ice kept them alive.

Tatsuya hummed and propped his chin up on his hand, watching his husband chew on the sweets.

"Atsushi?"

"Hmm~"

"What's wrong? You wanted to talk to me."

Atsushi stopped chewing for a moment and glanced up at him. "It didn't work, right, Muro-chin?"

Tatsuya thanked his long practices of keeping a poker face and carefully schooled his features into an appropriate look. Had he truly felt so strong about his failed conception that Atsushi noticed through their bond?

"Yes, Atsushi", he said, voice as neutral as possible. "I failed."

Atsushi frowned. "Muro-chin is stupid. _We_ failed. My fault as much as yours, if anything~"

Tatsuya smiled gently and touched his husband's big hand next to the bowl of sweets. "Of course not, Atsushi. There is no reason why it would be your fault. It is mine, mine alone, because I didn't take care of my body when I was younger and that is taking revenge on me now."

Atsushi stared at him with a deep scowl on his face. "Why are you so indifferent, Muro-chin~? You're lying to me. With your face."

The older man cocked his head and arched an eyebrow. "I'm not-"

"Yeah, you are~", Atsushi drawled and rose to his full height before shuffling around the counter to hug his husband from behind. "'S not your fault, Muro-chin. Don't worry."

Gods, Tatsuya wanted to believe him, but he could smell the disappointment and dejection in Atsushi's scent and it hurt, it hurt to have him feel like this.

"I'm sorry, Atsushi", he whispered and gripped his mate's long arms that were wrapped around his torso. His voice was raw with choked back tears; he had wanted this child so badly, _they_ had wanted it so badly.

Atsushi nuzzled his soft, black hair and the familiar gesture and scent offered at least a bit of comfort. "Muro-chin~"

Suddenly, the blaring sound of a horn rumbled through the halls.

Once, twice.

Tatsuya unwrapped himself from Atsushi's hug and frowned. "Twice... riders? But with this snow, how could they—"

"Who cares", Atsushi drawled and kept Tatsuya close. "If it's important Auntie will call us."

"But—", Tatsuya started and sighed. Atsushi was right. He settled back into his husband's arms and breathed in the familiar scent.

However, their peace was interrupted not even half an hour later by the kitchen doors being slammed open.

"Mylords!" The captain of the guard burst into the kitchens, breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed with exertion. "Lady Himuro demands your immediate presence!"

Tatsuya's frown deepened. "What happened?"

The captain was still catching her breath. "I don't know, Lord Tatsuya, but your mother-"

"I understand." Tatsuya cut her off and glanced at Atsushi, eyes shining with worry and urgency. "Let's go, Atsushi."

 

\--

 

Lady Kazue Himuro was a delicately built, but fierce Alpha woman. She had an even better poker face than her son so when Tatsuya saw her scowl so openly, he knew something was very wrong.

"Mother." He strode over to her where she was standing by the small window of her study. "What happened?"

Lady Kazue turned. Her grey-green eyes were dark. "A group of riders arrived at the gates just now. They come from Pebblecoast, a small village by the sea. A wreck of a ship managed to anchor there with only few of the crew still alive and none uninjured."

Tatsuya felt dread settling in his stomach. "Which ship?"

" 'Ayumi's Wrath'."

Atsushi stiffened behind him at the mention of the great war galley named after his sister that had disappeared during an autumn storm a month ago.

"The least injured crew member and the captain rode here", Kazue continued. " 'Ayumi's Wrath' got lost on the Vast Sea, but it wasn't the storm that destroyed her."

Her eyes darkened even further. "There is a fleet — no, an armada, coming. The ships hoisted the black and green banners of Jabberwock."

"Impossible!", Tatsuya blurted out, unable to control himself. "If Jabberwock has a fleet, that would mean that Alex—!"

"Yes." Kazue's frown deepened. "Queen Alexandra has been pushed off the throne of Angeles. She was among the crew of 'Ayumi's Wrath' - the crew fished her out of the sea, half dead."

Tatsuya had to grab the nearest chair. Alex pushed off the throne, Alex thrown into the sea, Alex injured, Jabberwock on the rise, with an armada—

"I will immediately send hawks to Crownwell and Shield of Aegis. Tatsuya, Atsushi-kun, ride south and take Queen Alexandra with you as soon as she is strong enough to make the voyage. Bring her to Starfire Fort for now, Lady Honoka Kagami will protect her as the angelessan ambassador, and then move on to Crownwell." Kazue looked out of the window, expression darkening even further. "Undoubtedly, Prince Shuuzou will call a High Council."


	33. The Threat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... hi. It's been a long time. Sorry. Just when I started to feel inspired for this story again, I got into uni and had to juggle a whole new lifestyle. Living alone, chores, lectures, essays, presentations and work in addition. I'm pretty certain that I won't be able to keep up a regular weekly updating schedule in the future, but I'm determined to keep this story going. Thank you for your patience and support, everyone. I'm really sorry for disappearing like that.

"Faster! You all have to be faster when you turn!"

"What the heck?!", Kagami shouted and fell to his knees, panting. He and the fellow Lord's Guard was drenched in sweat, but their instructor was merciless as usual. "That's not human! Do we look like Aomine to you?!"

Riko stared him down and clapped her hands. "Get up. Do the drill again. Yes, you too, Kuroko! Don't use misdirection to sneak off!"

The heir of Shadowhall jolted when he was discovered. "Aida-sensei..."

"No, you get back in line too!" Riko stomped over, grabbed the Omega by the collar and shoved him back. "By the way, has anyone seen Teppei?"

Izuki lifted his hand. "It's the monthly time for his inspections at Kirisaki Daiichi."

"Inspections", Riko huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Sure", Hyuuga muttered and heaved himself up, using his spear as leverage. "Inspections. That's why he always comes back reeking like that despicable spider."

"Sorry, but isn't Kiyoshi-senpai's sex life none of your business?", Asahina spoke up from the back and Yagi yelped.

"Asahina-kun!! Don't be so rude to our seniors!!", he shrieked and hurriedly bowed to the rest of the guard. "I'm so sorry-"

"Well, it's not like he's wrong", Koganei pointed out and shrugged.

"YOU ALL!", Riko yelled and the men almost fell back trying to scramble upright. "When did I tell you to discuss this?! Get back to training!!"

"Ser Taiga!" A call interrupted them again and a guardsman strode up to them and bowed. "Your lady mother requests you, Lord Tetsuya and Lady Riko in her study at once."

Riko frowned. "We are in the middle of training."

The guardsman shrugged. "An urgent visitor from the north has arrived."

"Let's go", Kuroko said and nudged his mate into walking. "If Honoka-san interrupts our training, it really must be urgent."

"I should hope so!", Riko grumbled and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Kuroko knocked on the door to his mother-in-law's study and pushed it open. "Honoka-san, you call— Murasakibara-kun? Himuro-san?"

For the first time since she knew him, Riko saw Kuroko honestly caught off guard.

Kagami squeezed past him. "Tatsuya's here? Yo—!" He froze and his eyes widened almost comically, jaw hanging open. " _Alex?!_ "

Between the married couple sat a pale, blonde woman with vision aids and wearing men's clothes.

Kuroko immediately bowed upon recognising the monarch of Angeles and his husband's foster mother. "Queen Alexandra."

"Taiga, Tetsuya, Riko. I'm afraid there are bad news", Honoka-san said and waved the three of them closer. "Come."

"Himuro-san", Riko spoke up before taking a seat. "Why are you here?"

Kagami knelt next to his former foster mother, worry etched into his face when he got a better look at her. "Alex, what happened? You look..."

"Like shit", Alex finished for him and Kuroko's eyes widened a little at the queen's crude language. She was sickly pale, her hair dull and her eyes dark, lips twisted into a bitter grimace. "I'm not a queen anymore, Taiga. My throne has been usurped." Her pale green eyes darkened even further. "Jabberwock is on the rise."

 

* * *

 

  
Shougo woke up to a knock on the door and a lantern illuminating the room all of a sudden.

He groaned in dismay and shook Nijimura next to him. The Alpha hadn't slept in days, had been at his dying father's sickbed all this time and had eventually passed out from fatigue. Servants had to carry him to his chambers. Some light wouldn't be enough to wake him.

"Yo, Niji", he grumbled and shook him again, harder. This time, Nijimura shifted and sat up, blinking blearily. The dark rings beneath his eyes weren't even blue anymore, they were straight up black. Tiny veins had bursted in his eyes, making the white of them more pink. He looked like one of the poor bastards at the harbour who smoked delirium inducing herbs all day long.

"Wha's wrong?", he muttered and sat up, rubbing his eyes. Only then did he realise Lord Healer Rokurou and his assistants standing in their bedchamber. His back straightened at once, his posture alert. "What's going on here?"

"My King", Rokurou Midorima spoke quietly. "Please pardon the intrusion.

Nijimura froze, all fatigue gone from his body. "...King?"

Shougo, who had already been drifting off to sleep again, sat up abruptly. He hadn't heard that right. His sleepy brain hadn't quite caught up yet.

"His Majesty the late King Takeshi has passed in his sleep", Rokurou said, his voice slightly choked off, and bowed deeply. His nurses and the servants present quickly followed his example. "The King is dead. Long live the King."

"Long live the King", the others echoed.

Nijimura did not move. He stared at the men and women bowing to him, calling him their King, telling him his father was dead-

"Your Majesty?", Rokurou asked, still bowing. They were not allowed to rise until the King granted it.

"Rise", a voice drawled from behind Nijimura. "And leave. Bring the news to the Queen... the Dowager Queen. And the prince and princess."

Rokurou nodded. "As you wish, Your Grace."

The horde of servants and nurses followed Rokurou Midorima out of the bedchamber, taking the light with them.

Shougo hurriedly lit a candle and climbed out of bed to get to his husband's bedside and grab him by the shoulders. "Niji-"

He frowned when he saw that there were tears in the cool, icy blue eyes of King Shuuzou II Nijimura, Lord of the Nine Realms, Warden of Teiko. His fingers bunched up the sheets in his fists and the white of his knuckles shone through his skin.

"Talk to me", Shougo hissed and gave his husband a shake when he didn't give a reaction. "Gods be damned, don't just sit there! Oi, Niji!"

"He's dead and no one was there for him in his last moments", Nijimura said softly and he gripped the sheets so tight Shougo could hear the fabric rip. "He did not deserve to leave like that. He did _not_ deserve it."

His voice broke and he blinked furiously. Shougo felt him trembling under his hands. "Gods. I knew he was terminally ill, but... this. This is. Just- too soon. It's too soon. I didn't- I should have been with him, I'm his _son_! Why wasn't I there?!"

Nijimura swore weakly and the first tears leaked from his eyes.

Shougo gulped. "Niji—"

"I don't even remember what he looked like before he fell sick." Nijimura's voice was rising. "Shougo, I don't remember my father, I don't know what— what he looked like, I— what kind of son am I?! I'm already forgetting about him, I wasn't there when he needed me, where _was_ I?!"

The new King clenched his hands to fists and a single sob forced its way out of his lungs. He raised a hand to cover his mouth, preventing any more sobs to come out. Instead, silent tears hit the carpet and his shoulders trembled.

Shougo was at a loss. A crying Alpha man? Who was his husband? What was Shougo ought to do in this situation?

"Hey... stop saying that shit. You're a good son, alright? An amazing son, yeah? He was proud of you. You did everything in your power", he mumbled and raised one hand to soothingly rub his mate's nape. "He's fine now. You did everything you could."

Another sob, more violent.

Shougo bit his cheek and stepped in to wrap his arms around Nijimura, holding the trembling man while rubbing circles onto his back, the way his brother Arata did it to him when they were boys at Greyport Castle and their Alpha mother Miku died.

Nijimura clenched his fingers at Shougo's shoulders and burrowed his face in the younger man's neck. He didn't hold his tears back now, quickly soaking Shougo's tunic.

Shougo slowly sank to his knees, pulling Nijimura with him, and softly started to croon. Every dynamic and every gender was able to croon, yet it was typically associated with Alphas because they were the ones ought to protect and comfort. Nijimura shuddered at the soothing sound and his nails dug almost painfully into Shougo's skin.

But the knight knew that Nijimura's pain was nothing compared to this, so he bit his tongue and rested his cheek on the older man's hair until his tears and sobs stopped.

"You didn't have to do this", Nijimura said with a rough voice once he had caught his breath. His eyes were downcast and even more swollen and red when he let go of Shougo.

"Right", Shougo mumbled and handed him a wet cloth. "There. Wipe your face. You're gonna have to face your council and your family."

Nijimura accepted the cloth and wiped his puffy eyes. The coolness of it was relieving on his dry and sore eyes. "Yeah."

Shougo looked at him with scrunched up brows and bit his lip. He couldn't imagine Nijimura stepping in front of his council the way he was now.

"Hey...", Shougo spoke up. "I— should I handle the council?"

The Alpha looked up in surprise. "You... you would do that?"

Shougo pulled at a stray silver strand of hair. "Yeah. I mean..." His eyes took on a sad look. "I know what it's like to lose a parent. And— Arata and I weren't given much time to mourn Mother." He cleared his throat. "I'll handle your council and the other stuff. You go to your family, alright? They need you the most right now and I think you need 'em too."

Nijimura looked at him with such raw, unguarded gratitude it made Shougo's stomach flip and his cheeks flush red.

"Thank you, Shougo", Nijimura said, his voice strained and his eyes watering again.

Shougo coughed. "...it's fine."

 

* * *

 

  
"Your Grace."

Shougo jolted when he realised that it was him who was addressed. "Uh, yes?"

Kouzou Shirogane bowed his head slightly. "Our most sincere condolences."

Shougo awkwardly bowed his head back with a muttered "thank you". He had never even seen his father-in-law after marrying Nijimura and he could only remember kind blue eyes and a cheerful smile from his foster time at court.

This was awkward.

Kouzou Shirogane, Sakuya Kubota, Rokurou Midorima, Naoki Kasamatsu, Satsuki Momoi and Nagisa Kise were all waiting for him to speak up. Haruka Nijimura, the late king's brother, was absent - Tooru Sekiguchi's father, Shiki Sekiguchi, attended the council meeting in his stead.

Shougo was substituting his husband. Not his husband the crown prince, but his husband the king.

Shougo was King Consort.

"Satsuki", he spoke up and Momoi turned towards him, her pink eyes shining with tears. "The letters to the lords and ladies and the funeral invitations... you take care of it."

Momoi nodded mutely and handed a note over to one of her assistants, Acchan or Micchan, Shougo couldn't tell. "Of course."

"Ser Shiki", he continued. "The Keep's gates should be closed for as long as the black banners are hoisted. And Captain Sakuya, see to it that no one tries to get in anyway. The City Watch should spread the news as well. Uhm... Lady Nagisa."

Nagisa Kise gave him a thin smile. "Yes, Your Grace?"

"How much will the funeral ceremony cost us?"

Ryouta's sister flipped through her files. "About 2000 goldstars from past experience. This is easily paid for."

Shougo sighed internally in relief. He was so bad with numbers, Nijimura had threatened to have him recite his multiplication tables every night before he went to sleep when he found out.

"The High Itsudansei will have the Black Bells ring for five days as soon as the messengers and hawks leave the Keep. I shall inform the major-domo to hoist the mourning banners", Shirogane said. "Now, the coronation is a very pressing matter."

Shougo gulped.

"The coronation can only be held once the Black Bells have stopped ringing", Naoki Kasamatsu said. "And a new crown has to be smithed-"

"He's not gonna wear Kaito's Vitreous Crown?", Shougo blurted out.

Naoki frowned. "His Majesty will of course wear King Kaito's crown. I was talking about yours, Your Grace."

'Fuck.' Shougo coughed. "Mine?"

Shit, he was _King Consort!_ He would be crowned and put on a throne and rule and— holy crap. He had known that this would happen since Nijimura was the literal Crown Prince Regnant when they married, but it was something entirely different from realising that he would be crowned within five days.

Someone knocked and a messenger girl entered.

"Pardon the intrusion, Mylords, Myladies, Your Grace", she said and placed a roll on the table. "A hawk has just arrived from Mirage Hall, addressed to Pr- King Shuuzou."

"His Majesty is absent. His husband King Shougo will read it in his stead", Shirogane said and passed the roll to Shougo who almost choked on his own saliva upon hearing "King Shougo".

Shougo hurriedly unrolled the scroll and scowled when he read it. "...shit."

Satsuki reached over and read the message out loud: "Your Highness, I write you with bad news. The lost yoseni war galley _Ayumi's Wrath_ arrived at Pebblestones' coast, almost completely wrecked. None of the crew were uninjured and they had Alexandra Garcia, queen of Angeles, with them. Her Majesty reported that Jabberwock rose in rebellion and their leader, a man named Nash Gold Jr., usurped her throne and had her thrown into the sea where the remnants of _Ayumi's Wrath_ found her. Gold is sailing against Teiko, Your Highness, with Queen Alexandra's whole armada. He is not coming to negotiate, he's coming to annihilate. I have sent Her Majesty to Starfire Fort with my son and his husband. Your Highness, I urge you to call your banners. From what Queen Alexandra has reported, we cannot underestimate Gold at all. Sincere regards, Kazue Himuro, Lady of Mirage Hall."

"Gods, no", Rokurou muttered and rubbed his temples. "Not now."

"This is the worst timing", Shiki Sekiguchi groaned.

"Why don't we just call the banners, show 'em some teikoan battle force and be done with it?", Shougo asked and immediately felt stupid when everyone stared at him like he had grown a second head.

"It literally says in Lady Himuro's letter that Gold should not be underestimated", Nagisa hissed and added, after a moment: "Your Grace."

Shougo glared at her and opened his mouth to snap, but Shirogane spoke up before he could.

"That is not the only issue, Your Grace." His scowl deepened. "During the five day mourning period for a deceased monarch, the nobles of the realm lay down all military actions for the time being, City Watches and guards excluded."

Shougo stared at him incredulously. "What kind of a fucking rule is that?!"

"A religious law suggestion approved by Isamu I", Naoki Kasamatsu replied.

"Oh, fuck the faith!", Shougo growled. "Should we just sit around doing nothing but mourning?!"

"Your Grace, late King Takeshi was your father-in-law and foster father!", Sakuya Kubota called.

"Yeah and he wouldn't have wanted his kingdom to fall because its citizens were unprepared and in mourning!"

"You barely knew him!"

"Yeah, but I know Shuuzou and I know how similar they are!!", Shougo roared. "Are we really going down without a fight?!"

"King Shougo", Shirogane said quietly. "We cannot attack Gold, that is what the law states. The Vast Sea takes weeks to cross. We have time."

"We don't know how far Jabberwock is already, though", Rokurou said with a sigh. "They could be days from our shores. We wouldn't know until Rakuzan was under attack."

"We do not", Satsuki spoke up and for the first time since the news of Takeshi's death had spread through the Keep, she smiled. "We don't necessarily need to know. There are two more people who have as many spies as I do."

Shougo caught on at once. She could only be talking about these two assholes. "Imayoshi and Hanamiya?"

"The Fox of Redlake and the Spider of Kirisaki? Are we relying on their likes now?", Sakuya Kubota asked dryly and huffed.

"We're relying on their information", Satsuki corrected.

"Makoto Hanamiya is a lying bastard", Nagisa Kise said. "None of what he says can be trusted. He wants to stir chaos from where he's scheming safely on his foggy island."

"Makoto Hanamiya is all this, Lady Nagisa", Shirogane said. "But he wants to survive, as do we all, and keep his power. It is a risk we must take. Your Grace?"

Shougo jumped. "Yeah?"

"Do I have permission to have Ser Shouichi and Ser Makoto collect information on Jabberwock and have it sent to the Keep?"

Shougo instinctively looked to his left where Nijimura normally sat. But Nijimura was not here to give him an encouraging nod or a disapproving shake of his head. He was alone right now.

"Yes", he muttered. "You do. Write to 'em. Guess we need all input we can get, huh? Oh, uhm, Satsuki? That angelessan queen. Shouldn't she be here in Crownwell? She probably has lots of important stuff to report."

"Your Grace, pardon the interruption", Naoki Kasamatsu said, lifting a hand. "I feel like calling a High Council would be the most effective tactic here."

Shougo cursed himself for not paying attention to his tutoring back in the days. What the fuck was a High Council again?! "Ah... calling the High Lords to Crownwell?"

Naoki nodded and Shougo exhaled internally. Thank the fucking gods, he had remembered correctly.

"Alright." He cleared his throat. Calling a High Council. Right. How the fuck did that go?! "Let's, uh, call a High Council."

Shirogane nodded at the clerk documenting the council meeting. "Send a note to the High Lords: Shougo of House Haizaki, King Consort to Shuuzou II Nijimura, calls a High Council on behalf of his royal husband and his councillors. I, Kouzou Shirogane, advisor to His Majesty the King, demand an immediate answer to the summons."

 

 

 


	34. The Line of Succession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll spare you the excuses - just, thank you to everyone who stuck around. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Chihiro woke up to soft lips pressing against his forehead.

"The fuck're ya doin'?", he slurred and rolled over. "Lemme sleep."

Seijuurou laughed softly and sat on the bed, one hand resting on Chihiro's waist. "We've reached Lionbay. The servants are almost done unloading the ship, I let you sleep for as long as possible."

Chihiro groaned. He really didn't want to get up, his stomach was in turmoil again and he felt like any vertical movement would make him retch up everything he had managed to eat yesterday. "I'm nauseous. Go away, Seijuurou."

"Should I fetch you the herbs again? They helped yesterday", Seijuurou asked and rose.

"They're fucking gross."

"Grosser than vomiting?"

Chihiro pouted inwardly and curled up even further. "...no."

"I'll go get some, then."

"Mhm..."

Seijuurou returned quickly enough and once Chihiro had chewed and swallowed the disgusting herbs, he already felt a bit better.

"Thanks", he grumbled and slowly sat up. He felt a bit dizzy at the movement, but it faded soon. "We're here already?"

"Yes", Seijuurou said and put his cloak on. "You slept through most of the voyage."

"The spawn makes me tired, don't blame me", Chihiro muttered and started changing out of his sleep clothes into his guardsman's uniform.

"You don't have to wear this anymore, Chihiro."

"Oh really?", the Omega asked, face blank. "Didn't know agreeing to your proposal demoted me from my position as your personal guard."

Seijuurou sighed. "I would consider it more of a promotion, actually. But if you wish to remain my guardsman, I will be the last one to stop you."

Chihiro gave him a half-smirk. "Good for you." He finished tightening the straps of his breastplate and fastened his cloak. "Let's get off this damn ship. These fucking waves didn't really help my nausea."

Seijuurou winced slightly. "My apologies."

"What for?" Chihiro scoffed. "Didn't know you could control the ocean, _Akashi-sama."_

The Alpha laughed softly in response. "Yes. You're right."

The second they stepped onto rakuzani ground a shrill "AKASHI! MAYUZUMI-SAN!" pierced Chihiro's ears.

"Hells no", he groaned and dodged Hayama who then barrelled right into Seijuurou.

The hyper Alpha rapidly jumped back and bowed. "Wuaaahhh! So sorry, Akashi!! I didn't mean to tackle you!! Please don't take my eye out?"

"Koutarou!" Reo Mibuchi came running, his silky black hair a mess. "What are you doing?! Gods, Sei-chan, I'm sorry—"

"No worries, Mibuchi", Seijuurou said with a wave of his hand. "Where is Nebuya?"

"Having lunch for the third time today", Hayama piped up. "Your father asked where you were, so he sent us. Said you were taking 'unusually' long or something like that? Right, Reo-nee?"

Mibuchi nodded. "He's getting impatient, Sei-chan."

Seijuurou sighed. "My father can wait for a few more moments."

"Sei-chan", Mibuchi said, wringing his hands. "There has been a letter from Crownwell, bearing the King's seal."

Seijuurou frowned. "We receive messages from Crownwell all the time, Mibuchi."

"The wax of the seal was black, Akashi", Hayama said, voice unusually dark.

Chihiro froze. All noble houses used red wax. Black was reserved for one occasion.

Seijuurou wilted slightly. "Ah...", He said, voice quiet. "King Takeshi has been reunited with his ancestors in the Realm Beyond, hasn't he."

"We're so sorry, Sei-chan", Mibuchi whispered and cast his eyes down.

Chihiro glanced at his fiancé. Takeshi Nijimura had been Seijuurou's foster father and he knew that he had loved the King like a parent.

"Thank you", Seijuurou said quietly and took Yukimaru's reigns. "We will head to the Eye at once."

 

 

* * *

 

 

"The line of succession", Nijimura said out of the blue.

Shougo looked up from the heavy book he was skimming. "Huh?"

Nijimura dropped into the armchair opposite him. He looked indescribably tired. "The book you're reading. It's the ancestral family tree of House Nijimura. Are you reading it because of the line of succession?"

Shougo shrugged. "Yeah. In the end I never really thought that your father would die."

Nijimura slumped.

"Sorry", Shougo said quickly. He could have slapped himself — that had been such a dumb comment.

"As of now, first in line is Ken. Until we have a child, maybe", Nijimura said softly. Shougo unconsciously glanced at his stomach. Having a child, huh? He wasn't as appalled by the fact as he had been upon his marriage to Nijimura. Strange. "After Ken is Mika. Third in line is Akashi."

Shougo's head whipped up. "Hold on, what?!"

Nijimura rose and walked around to trace his finger along the family tree. "After Mika, my uncle Haruka would inherit. However, he is a sworn knight of the Crownguard and may hold no crown or lands. Father's and Haruka's sister, aunt Fuyue, died young, she would have been Haruka's heir. Now, there is no offspring of my grandfather Isamu left, so we move on to great-aunt Sakura. She wed Satoru Akashi, a distant cousin of the Lord of Emperor's Eye at the time. Their only daughter, Shiori, is dead as well. And Shiori, who wed Masaomi Akashi, had only one child..."

"Seijuurou Akashi", Shougo mumbled. "That explains why Akashi's bonkers, though."

Nijimura blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Look at all that incest!", Shougo said. "Sakura's father was an Akashi. She married another Akashi. Her daughter married _another_ Akashi. Of course Akashi — Seijuurou, I mean — is nuts."

Nijimura couldn't help but smile a little. "I guess it _does_ explain some things."

Shougo slammed the book shut and put it aside with a huff. "Fucking Akashis. Literally."

There was a short moment of silence, then Nijimura spoke up again.

"When your mother died...", he asked softly. "How did you cope?"

Shougo grimaced slightly. The pain over the death of his Alpha mother had dulled over the decade since her passing, but he still wasn't entirely comfortable talking about it.

"Why do you wanna know", he asked and tugged at a stray strand of silver hair.

Nijimura sighed and waved him off. "Nevermind. It's stupid. Forget I've said anything"

Shougo frowned and cocked his head. He had an inkling of why Nijimura wanted to know, but was he really ready to lay all that open to his husband?

"I was always closer to Mother, than to Ma, you know?", he started slowly. Nijimura had just lost his father. If hearing how Shougo coped with his own sire's loss helped him deal with it, Shougo would talk about it. "Mother was... well, she was a badass, no doubt about it." He couldn't help but smile. "She commanded the royal navy. She fought on par with Alpha men and she won often enough. She was a High Lady and her strength and power were acknowledged throughout the realm, you get what I mean? Every child has a hero they look up to and well, uhm, this sounds cheesy as hell, but Arata's and mine was Mother. Ma is... well, more meek. She is ferocious and strong in her own way, but Mother... Mother was a warrior."

Shougo fiddled with the hem of his tunic. He remembered his Alpha mother's cocky grin and the way her blood red cloak shone against her dark grey armour. He remembered bone crushing hugs and silver hair in a long braid. He remembered firm words of encouragement and ringing laughter.

"I didn't know Mother was not well when I left for fostering here, ya know?", Shougo continued and winced. "She was still healthy then. So when that messenger arrived, telling me that Mother was dying of the Red Death and summoned me to Greyport Castle... that was like a fucking cannonball. Ma didn't tell me that Mother was sick. Arata was fostered at Yosen then, he didn't know either. And when I returned home, Mother was..."

He swallowed a lump in his throat. His mother had looked like a skeleton on her deathbed. Rattling breath, grey skin, dull and matted silver hair, eyes deep in their sockets and hollow cheeks, bony and shivering despite the lit fireplace. Nothing like the Navy Overlady he had known her to be. No trace of her cocky smirk or her ringing laughter or her fearsome look of determination.

"She was like a husk of herself? When she passed away, I didn't— I didn't really understand. Arata did and he tried to stay strong for me, ya know? I was seven. He was twelve." He smiled bitterly. Arata had become Lord of Greyport Castle and Warden of Fukuda Sogo at mere twelve years of age. "We weren't given much time to mourn? Arata was almost immediately inaugurated to rule. I became a squire. Imma be honest with ya, Niji, I don't know how I coped with Mother's death. I just trained and fought and trained until I was knighted and then I trained and fought even more. The time we were given to mourn Mother, I cried, alright, no use denying it. I cried a lot and Arata stayed strong for me. He only ever cried at night when I sneaked into his rooms because I couldn't sleep. And even then quietly. He was the oldest child, the heir, he was the one who had to stay strong for Ma and me."

Shougo bit his lower lip and pulled at another stray strand of silver hair. "I guess we both didn't cope well.

Nijimura didn't look at him. "... do you miss her?"

The Omega frowned slightly. "Yeah. Of course. She was one of my mothers and she's gone. Not all the time, of course. But when—" Shougo bit his tongue for a moment. "When Winterfeld happened and Ryouta beat me. Or when I'm sailing during the Godspour. Sometimes just when I can't sleep. Then I miss her, like hell."

"And the pain", Nijimura said, voice even softer. Shougo strained to even hear him. "Does the pain... get better?"

Shougo suddenly found himself standing up and kneeling next to his husband's chair. Nijimura's bottom lip was quivering and his eyes were shining with tears.

"It does", Shougo said and reached up to place a hand at the nape of Nijimura's neck, thumb rubbing soothing circles. Seeing that strong, self-confident man completely vulnerable didn't feel right. "It takes a long while, but yeah. It gets better."

Nijimura nodded and whispered a quiet "Thank you".

Shougo frowned. "Hey. Your mother's not here. Ken and Mika-chan are not here. Your council is not here. 'S is just us. You don't have to be strong right now, ya know? I'd be the last person to judge. 'S not good if ya burrow it all inside."

Nijimura shook his head. "You don't get it, I'm the _King_ , I can't—"

"Oh, fuck that! You're human, for the gods' sake!", Shougo bit. "A crown you don't have yet and a throne that you'll sit on don't fucking exempt you from mourning your parent!"

Nijimura gave him a half-hearted glare, then the tears welled up in his eyes again. "I miss him, alright?" His raspy voice broke and Nijimura leaned his head back, teeth chewing on his lower lip while tears spilled from his eyes and trickled down his temples. "I haven't really seen or interacted with him in months, but I miss him, fuck, I miss him so much, Shougo. I'm not ready to do all this without him. I _need_ him!"

Nijimura let out a frustrated sound and kicked the small table next to him away with so much force, it broke. Shougo jumped and stared. He hadn't forgotten Nijimura's strength, but still...

"You know what I think you need?", Shougo spoke up. "A fight. To vent. I feel like you need to punch something."

Nijimura laughed bitterly. "Is that so?"

Shougo pulled his husband up with a fierce expression on his face. "Yeah. And you'll fight _me_. And Itsukami help ya if you hold back cause I sure as hell won't."

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: KnB belongs to its original creators, I only own my writing!


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